USATF-NE Headline News

Organizers announced today that the Boston Indoor Games will return to the Reggie Lewis Center on Saturday, February 5, with a new sponsor and a new name, the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. The meet has featured more than 100 Olympic and World Championship medalists, and recorded six World and nine American records in its 16 years. New Balance was the event's first title sponsor, providing initial support to fuel the growth of the event to world level status.

Meet information, including ticket details, can be found at newbalanceindoorgrandprix.com (or call 1-877-TIX-TRAC for ticket info). There will be local flavor among the international stars with the popular youth relay and the masters mile.

Mary Harada (Liberty AC/West Newbury MA) has started the year on a good foot with a new masters World and American record in the mile. At the RCC Tiger All-Comers held at the Reggie Lewis Center on Saturday, Mary ran 8:21.50 for the distance, lowering the existing mark for women age 75-79 by a full five seconds. We'll likely see more record times by her as the indoor season progresses. Congratulations!

Indoor track is fun!
Photo: Tom Derderian

As the new year approaches, the indoor track and field season gets into full swing. With one more Boston U. Mini-meet, the Sugarloaf Mt. AC developmental meets, Greater Boston TC Invite, the USATF New England/Eastern Masters meet (starting at age 30) and several youth meets, there's an opportunity for everyone. Road runners are most welcome in the development meets; take advantage of the indoor facilites.

The full New England indoor schedule is at the track and field page.

Liberty AC's W50 4 x 1600 Relay
Photo: Steve Vaitones

Liberty Athletic Club brought down the curtain on 2010 track with a new US Age-Group Best Relay in the 4 x 1600 at Lou's 4x1600 Relay held in conjunction with the Boston University Development meet on Saturday. The foursome's time of 26:17.8 was a new USA W50+ best, breaking the 28:02.2 set by a different Liberty squad at the first Lou's Relay in 2001.

Splits for the four runners were: Dru Pratt-Otto, 6:39.7; Sue Gustafson (age 64!), 6:47.3; Joan Miller, 6:28.3; and coach Cathy Utzschneider, 6:22.5. The gathering blizzard kept some from traveling and participating, including a LAC squad prepared for the W60+ record, and a men's 70+ team - they'll give it a try in 2011.

The HFC Striders won their third straight Lou's Relay in 18:25.8, with TJ Unger recording the day's fastest split of 4:25.8. The third and final BU Development meet runs on Sunday, January 2, and is open to all. The schedule (on the track page) includes six running events from 60 to 3000 meters.

Administrator/author Richard Johnson and masters runner Bill Riley were recognized by the Boston Athletic Association as part of Sunday's Bill Rodgers Jingle Bell Run, continuing a tradition of presenting awards dedicated to Will Cloney and Jock Semple, longtime caretakers of the B.A.A.'s athletic and administrative efforts.

The Cloney Award, presented to an individual who has promoted the running industry, especially locally, went to Johnson, curator of The Sports Museum since 1982. He has also authored or co-authored books on running including: "The Boston Marathon, A Century of Boston Sports", and "Young at Heart, The Story of Johnny Kelley".

The Semple Award, presented to a local athlete who has made an impact within running, especially through performance, goes to Riley, "Cape Cod's Ironman". The 74-year-old harrier from Centerville Mass., a member of the Cape Cod Athletic Club and the Boston Athletic Association Running Club, is a five-time Outstanding Athlete of the Year winner as recognized by USATF (most recently for 2010). He has been ranked number one in the country in his age group six times since 1997, and is also a six-time winner of the National Triathlon Championships.

Beneficiaries of the run were Newington (Conn.) HS cross country scholarship - alma mater of Bill Rodgers - and the Boston Center for Youth and Families.

The Boston Athletic Association open men made the medal stand at the USA Cross Country Nationals in Charlotte NC on Saturday. More than 1100 athletes competed in the four races, two open and two masters championship competitions.

Led by New England champ Tim Ritchie in 26th, 30:17.7, and with three more finishers in the top 50 (Brian Harvey 32/Lucas Meyer 37/Ruben Sanca 45), the Unicorn men scored 175 points for the bronze medals among 45 club squads behind McMillan Elite of Arizona with just 29 points, and Hansons-Brooks (MI) at 59. Also placing teams were New Balance Boston (28th, 771), Greater Boston TD (29th, 777) and Greater Springfield Harriers (38th, 1113). Men's race individual winner Aaron Braun led a 1-2 finish for McMillan.

In the women's race, New England and Mayors Cup winner Katie DiCamillo (Providence RI) was first local home in 16th place. Teaming with clubmate Jenn Donovan (Boston) in 20th, they led the New Balance Boston to fifth place in the team rankings with 157 points. Jeanette Faber (34) annd Kasie Enman (36) led the B.A.A. to eighth place (227) in the 29 team race, won by McMillan Elite which completed a sweep of the team wins, totaling 69 points. Also in the summaries were Greater Boston TC (16th, 393), New Balance Boston B (23, 710), and Greater Boston B (27, 750). Individual winner Renee Metivier-Baillie of Running Republic of Colorado (4th team) clocked 19:51.

In the masters' women's race, New Englanders earned four individuals medals, including golds by Lynnette Walker (Gr.Springfield Harriers) first 70-74, and Mary Harada (Liberty AC) winning 75-79. Carrie Parsi (Liberty) won silver in 70-74, and Cathy Gibson (Liberty) was bronze in 55-59. Silver team medals went to Greater Lowell RR in the 50+ division, and Liberty AC in 60+; in the 40+ group, Greater Springfield Harriers place 15th. And noting what's likely one of the few mother-daughter combos in Charlotte, GLRR's Lianne Pancoast (Westford MA) was 9th 50-54, and daughter Stephanie, now in California, was 32nd in the open women's race.

Among men's masters, Dirigo RC 40+ and Green Mountain AA 50+ both made the medal stand with third place scores. Among team divisions, 40+ lists also found Greater Springfield 7th and Central Mass Striders 13th, 50+ had Greater Lowell RR 10th, and the GMAA 60+ squad was a close 4th. Individual medalists were Tom Ryan GMAA, 2nd 55-59, NE overall masters champ Francis Burdett GSH, 3rd 45-49, and Norm Larson GMAA, 3rd 50-54,

Complete results of all divisions at usatf.org

The youth cross season closed at the National Junior Olympic meet in Hoover Alabama on Saturday with solid performances by local youth among the 2000+ competitors. Samantha Hicks won the first gold medal in several years by a New Englander in taking the Intermediate Girls (age 15-16) race. Earning team awards, the Granite State Flash came home with bronze medals from the Midget Girls race.

New England Club placings and top individual in each race:
Bantam Girls: 8.Greater Lowell RR 227, 10.Granite State Flash 230 (15 teams); 32.Ahna McCusker Fast Feet 12:56
Midget Girls: 3.Granite State Flash 132 (17 teams); 24.Kate Bermingham GSF, 11:46
Youth Girls: 11.Granite State Flash 275, 12.Waltham TC 319, 16.Gate City Striders 364 (26 teams); 12.Madeleine Berkson, Prov.Cobras 14:45
Intermediate Girls: 4.Gate City Striders 83 (6 teams); 1.Samantha Hicks GCS 18:40
Young Women: 23.Erica Notini, GCS 20:34

Bantam Boys: 13.Granite State Flash 329, 15.Nashua PAL 371 (21 teams); 47.Jake Scafidi GSF 12:16
Midget Boys: 11.Waltham TC 310; 15.Nashua PAL 396; 16.Bradford Huskies 402 (24 teams); 13. Michael Durkin, So.Shore Fireboltz 10:55
Youth Boys: 12.Granite State Flash 333, 14.Prov.Cobras 339 (27 teams); 28.Jake Grundy, PC 13:34
Intermediate Boys: 7.Granite State Flash 152 (9 teams); 11.Bobby Parker, Sentinel Str 16:51
Young Men: 5.Sentinel Striders 122 (9 teams); 11.Alexander Gallo, Sentinel 16:21

Results of all 10 races are at usatf.org/event/2010.

Six New England states scholastic runner headed to better weather and met national elite counterparts at the 32nd Foot Locer Cross Country Championships in San Diego on Saturday. Four girls represented the New England states; Abbey Leonardi of Kennebunkport ME led the group in 16th place in 17:57; following her was Ariel Beauregard Breton (Deerfield Academy MA) 17th, 17:59; sophomore Catarina Rocha (Peabody MA) 31st, 18:34; and Jackie Nicholas (Woodbury CT) 35th; 18:38. Winner Aisling Cuffe (Cornwall-on-Hudson NY) was 34 seconds clear of the nearest challenger with her 16:53 (third largest winning margin ever).

In the boys race, John Murray (Shrewsbury MA) improved his place of last year to 21st in the 40 runner pack, clocking 15:40. Jeff LaCoste (Bishop Guertin/Amherst NH) was close behind in 15:51 for 29th. Lukas Verzbicas (Orland Hills IL) became only the third runner in race history to repeat as champ (and after winning the Nike Team Nationals the previous week), running 14:59; all 40 runners finished in 1:03.
Results and stories at footlockercc.com

The Boston Athletic Association has announced changes at the top level of their organizaton, effective January 1. Guy Morse He has served as the organization's Executive Director (since 2000) and Boston Marathon Race Director 1985-2000) will become the Senior Director of External Affairs. Thomas Grilk, President of the B.A.A. Board of Governors since 2003, has been named by the B.A.A.'s Board of Governors to succeed Morse as Executive Director and will resign the president's position to accept his new position at the B.A.A. The expansion in leadership enables the B.A.A. to retain Morse's experience and relationships while transferring the responsibility of the Association's daily management to Grilk.

"This represents the perfect time for me to transition into a new role for the B.A.A.," said Morse. "After having rebounded from health-related issues a couple of years ago, I realize my enthusiasm and belief in the B.A.A.'s mission is as strong as ever. I'm looking forward to creating even stronger community, industry and institutional relationships for the Association where they are needed for the purpose of furthering the B.A.A.'s positive impact and expanded reach. Serving the B.A.A. and its event participants during the last 27 years has been an honor and a privilege, and I look forward to continuing in my new capacity."

Grilk, a corporate attorney, has been a member of the B.A.A. since 1987, and he has served as B.A.A. President since 2003. "The B.A.A. is a vibrant, engaged and committed organization which is active in the community and strives to make lives healthier and better through running, charitable and philanthropic endeavors," said Grilk. "We take very seriously our responsibility to uphold the Boston Marathon as a source of local pride, while also remembering that we are involved with a recreational activity which should be fun and entertaining for participants and spectators alike. I look forward to the B.A.A.'s growth and to creating additional opportunities open to anyone who might wish to participate in a B.A.A. road race, event or program."

During Grilk's tenure as President, the BAA has advanced through the creation of innovative events while expanding and strengthening the B.A.A.'s name and brand with particular attention to American development.

See the full press release at baa.org.

Two respected distance runners in the New England community passed away in the past week.

Long time Greater Lowell Roadrunner and club Hall of Fame member (in the hall's first year) Will Mason lost a five year battle with cancer today. While affecting his health, he did not let cancer get in the way of the final years of life. Retiring to Barnstable from Chelmsford in 2000 after teaching at Lesley College and Boston University, Will was a reliable scoring member of the GLRR road running and cross country teams in the 80's and 90's, a member of the USATF-NE board in the 1980's, and a very readable writer for a variety of publications. See glrr.net.

Cambridge Sports Union member Martin Duffy also passed away from cancer. A runner from his high school days, Duffy had a streak of running 40 consecutive Boston Marathon races. His personal best of 2:37:11. He was an economist and an adjunct faculty member of Suffolk University and Emmanuel College, as well was a town meeting member and community soccer coach.

The National Scholastic Sports Foundation Indoor has announced a multi-year partnership with New Balance for newly titled the New Balance Indoor Nationals scholastic meet. The event, which was held at the Reggie Lewis Ceter for the past two years, heads to New York City's Armory for 2011.
The new meet sponsorship brings the meet to the Armory's New Balance Track and Field Center. The national scholastic invitational previously run by the Metropolitan association of USATF at the Armory will not be held, resulting in only a single "HS National" event this winter. New Balance now sponsors both of the recognized indoor and outdoor high school nationals (though there is no "official" nationals).

Complete information can be found at the www.nationalscholastic.org website.

Local athletes and administrators were recognized by their peers at the USATF national Annual Meeting in Virginia Beach, Virginia. December 1-5.

The highlight was "Association of the Year" award presented to the New England association. With individual membership increasing by almost 10%, having over 500 sanctioned events (most by any association ever) and club membership numbers also going up, the association's active year was rewarded; however, given that New England was already among the top 5 in all categories to begin with, the increases were even more impressive. A hearty congratulations to the local program administrators who continue to contribute to the successes of USATF New England !

Awards in the competitive divisions covered several disciplines. The USATF Mountain/Ultra/Trail Running (MUT) Council gave their Contributor of the Year Award to Bob and Anita Teschek, retiring directors of the Mt.Washington Road Race. The couple brought the status of the "Run to the Clouds" along from an interesting curiousity to an internationally prestigious event and national championship in their several decade tenure in the directorship.

The Council also named two New Englanders among their 2010 award winners. Undefeated in the USATF-NE Mountain/Trail circuit and top scorer in the USA Trail Series, Gina Lucrezi (Newton MA/INOV-8) earned the women's Trail Runner award for the year. Men's Masters Mountain awardee is Tim Van Orden (CMS/Bennington VT), who several USA trail titles and placed ninth overall in the NE circuit.

Masters athletes were noted for being the best of their peers. Reno Stirrat (Whirlaway RT/Dorchester MA) and Bill Riley (B.A.A./Barnstable MA) were rewarded as the nation's best road runners in the M55-59 and M70-75 age divisions, respectively. Flo Meiler (Mass Velocity/Burlington VT, age 76) was recognized as one of Masters Track & Field athletes of the year in the age 60+ group of competitors.

Additionally, several championship competitions were awarded to local events for future years. The 2011 Cranmore Mountain Run in North Conway will be the year's USA Mountain championship, and the entire USA Team for the 2011 World Mountain Championship team will be selected from the multiple-loop up-and-down race. The Mt.Washington Road Race will serve as the 2012 Mountain title event. On the roads, two more years (2011, 2012) were added as National Championship descriptor for the Tufts 10K for Women in Boston on Columbus Day. The association will also host the 2011 USA vs. Canada Junior Team International Race Walk on August 14, the first time the event's 28 years it will be held in the region.

The New England delegation of 16 attended and contributed to many of the committee meetings over the five day convention. Read more about the convention at the newly updated www.usatf.org website.

The final colleges and scholastic teams still in action finished their seasons on Saturday.

Jeff Veiga (U.Mass.Lowell) ran to a sparkling third place at the NCAA Division 2 Championships in Louisville Kentucky. It is one of the few medal placings ever by a New Englander at the D2 meet. Veiga's UML Riverhawks combined to place 13th among teams, with Stonehill 21st (Pat FUllerton, 117th, top runner). Also finishing in All-American positions were Glarius Rop (AIC, 23rd) and Angus MacDonald (UML, 36th), repeating honors earned last year. In the women's race, Stonehill was the lone squad from New England, in 18th led by freshman Emily Regan (113th). Top individual was AIC's Jeptui Cherutich, 41st.

The Nike Cross National in Portland, Oregon, found Pembroke (MA) 18th in the boys race, led by Wesley Gallagher in 69th with Weymouth (MA) TC's Steve Sollowin top NE finisher in 59th; over 120 boys finished in a 90 second span. Champlain Valley Union Vermont girls placed 21st (Taylor Spillane 88th) in an equally competitive girls' race.

The season's final XC championships run this Saturday, December 11 - USA Fall Nationals, USA Junior Olympics, and Footlocker Scholastic.

The two major scholastic cross country programs will see a number of local runners heading to their finals in the coming weeks.

Six scholastic runners from the New England states will run in San Diego in two weeks, having qualified for the Footlocker Scholastic Cross Country National meet at the Northeast Regional race at Sunken Meadow State Park in New York on Saturday. The top 10 in each race at four regionals advance to the final.

In the boys' race, won by Chad Noelle of Greene NY (15:42.8), New Hampshire state champion and New England runner-up Jeff Lacoste (Amherst NH/Bishop Guertin HS 15:45) and Massachusetts state champ John Murray (Shrewsbury MA, 15:45) finished 3-4 in the crowded field. This will be a return trip for Murray.

Among the girls, national favorite Aisling Cuffe (Cornwall NY) had 10 seconds on Maine state winner Abbey Leonardi of Kennebunkport ME (18:02); sophomore Mass. state champion Catarina Rocha (Peabody MA 18:27), Jackie Nicholas (Woodbury CT 18:28.0), and NE prep school Class A winner Ariel Beauregard Breton (Deerfield Academy, MA, 18:28.0) finished 8-9-10. Rocha's father Joe, running for New Bedford MA, was 15th at the Footlocker final in 1982. Full results/story.

At the Nike Cross National regional meet in Wappingers Falls NY, Mass runners scored high enough to earn a trip to the finals in Portland Oregon; only 2 teams and 5 individuals move on. The Titans TC runners from highly ranked Mass. Division II State Champion Pembroke placed second to Christian Brothers Academy (NY) and will meet some of the nation's best teams, while Weymouth (MA)TC's Steve Sollowin and Zachary Fraielli (LaSalle, RI) placed 4-6 and head west as individuals. The Champlain Valley Union Vermont girls become the first team from the Green Mountain State to run at this level, the state titleists placing second to Hunterdon Hawks of NJ. Full results/story/.

The 2011 USATF-NE Grand Prix Series has been selected by an e-mail vote of the membership. A total of 329 votes were cast during the one-week period from November 17 through 24. The results of the vote creates the following schedule:

New Bedford Half Marathon, 13.1M, New Bedford MA, Sunday, Mar 20
James Joyce Ramble 10K, Dedham MA, Sunday, May 1
Medical Center 6K, Nashua NH, Sunday, May 8
Rhody 5K, Lincoln RI, Sunday, June 5
Stowe 8 Miler, Stowe VT, Sunday, July 17
Carver Cranberry Classic 5M, Carver MA, Saturday, July 30
Cape Cod Marathon, Falmouth MA, Sunday, Oct. 30

The vote was the final step in the process in which a selection committee consisting of the Long Distance Running Chairs and representatives from the clubs created a ballot based on scheduled dates of bidding races.

The strength of the New England association youth cross country was evident at the USATF Region I Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships in Burrillville RI on Sunday, as local runners notched five individual and six team wins in the ten divisions. The largest Region I meet since 2005 (also in Rhode Island), temperatures in the 40s with no wind and pleasant sun made for a good day of racing.

New England runners made up over half the field among the six associations running in the Region. Leading races to the finish tape in their age group races were Chloe Taylor (Waltham TC, Bantam Girls), Madeline Berkson (Providence Cobras, Youth Girls), Courtney Hawkins (Gate City, Intermediate Girls), Erica Notini (Gate City, Young Women), and Alexander Gallo (Sentinel Striders, Young Men). Among teams, Waltham Track Club had three wins (Bantam Girls, Youth Girls, Midget Boys), Granite State Flash won Bantam Boys, Gate City Striders took Intermediate Women, and host club Sentinel Striders were best in Young Men.

Results are at usatfne.org/cross. The top 3 teams and individuals in the top 20 qualify for Nationals in Hoover, Alabama, on December 11. Entry for Nationals is at CoachO.com on Wednesday.

New Englanders took the 52nd Philadelphia Marathon by storm last Sunday, recording many quality performances in both the marathon and half marathon.

Daniel Vassallo, (adidas NE, Wilmington, MA) and David Bedoya (GBTC/Somerville MA) went 1-2 in the marathon in 2:21:28 (personal best) and 2:23:37 ,respectively. Four NE women placed in the top 15, led by Jennifer Campbell (B.A.A./Watertown MA) in 7th with a 2:49:52 debut at the distance. Behind her were Lara Johnson (BAA/Natick MA, 8th, 2:51:00), Paige Miller (Brookline MA, 12th, 2:53:08), and Nicole Radzik (TeamRUN/Sutton MA, 15th, 2:54:39).

Locals went 2-3 in the half marathon, Lauren Philbrook (Hopkinton MA) in 1:17:57 and new master Kara Haas (adidas NE/Chelmsford MA) in 1:20:21 (first 40+).

As with many marathons around the country, finisher numbers were up significantly; the 8935 finishers were almost 1500 more than 2009, and the half marathon experienced similar gains. Results and notes from Race Results Weekly report.

Middlebury College women gave retiring coach Terry Aldrich a notable sendoff by capturing the NCAA Division III National Cross Country Championship in Waverly, Iowa on Saturday. In his 31 year tenure, Aldrich has guided the Panthers to 15 consecutive appearances at Nationals, and this year, the men's team joined the big show action for the first time. The crown was Middlebury's sixth national D3 harrier title, all since 2000.
New England women's teams all finished in the top quarter of the 32 team field; M.I.T. placed third - their highest placing ever and third straight in the top 10 - followed by Williams in fifth and Amherst in eighth. Jennifer Gossels of Williams was runner-up in the individual results, with Paige Mills of Keene State fifth.

The men's race found regional teams led by M.I.T. in 12th (their best finish since 1994), followed by Brandeis (16th) and Williams (18th). Highest individual placers were the Tech Engineers' Dan Harper and Stephen Serene in 48 and 51; Brookline MA product Michael Burnstein finished 30th as top runner for Washington (Mo.) University.
Full results can be found at www.ncaachampionships.com

Division I action at Indiana State on Monday found Villanova women and Oklahoma State men taking home the team trophies, with Florida State second in both races. Among the women, top New Englander was Shelby Greany of Providence in 12th, and Emily Jones (Harvard MA/Georgetown), 29th, and second runner on her fourth place team. Providence (9th) and Boston College (19th) were local team representatives in a field of 31 teams. On the men's list, Providence, with all underclassmen, placed 22nd. Individually, Ryan Collins (Mansfield MA/ Virginia) was 32nd and Mark Amirault (Westwood MA/ Princeton) was 52nd. First New England college runner was Dominic Channon of Providence in 55th.

Full results at gosycamores.com.

Online voting for the 2011 USATF New England Grand Prix events is now up and running. All members age 18 and up who have LDR checked on their membership record will receive an email message from the National office to this regard. Clubs will receive a notice as well. Voters must be at least 18 years old, and USATF membership and password are both required to cast a vote.
There are still be 7 days to cast a ballot; voting closes at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, NOvember 23. Results will be announced by the end of the day Wednesday, November 24.

Voting procedures and information on all bids is at the Grand Prix webpage - usatfne.org/gp.

The ballot can be accessed at this USATF webpage.

The second largest field in New England Championship Junior Olympic races (topped only by race in 2005 prior to the National race in RI) took to the fields in Burrillville RI on Sunday. Just short of 600 runners crossed the finish line on maybe the last day of the year for spectators to comfortably wear shorts. The meet was run by USATF-NE and hosted by Sentinel Striders.

A wide range of clubs were represented in the team and individual results; Granite State Flash (4), Waltham (3), Gate City Striders, and Sentinel Striders (1 each) had team wins, and seven different representations led the ten division race (from ages 10 and under to 17-18) to the tape.

Full results at usatf.org/cross. The top 3 teams and individuals in the top 25 advance to the Region I meet at Burrillville on Sunday.

Sign-up is online only at coacho.com - and note that New England entry will not be possible until mid-day on Wednesday (and will close on Friday at noon).

Online voting for the 2011 USATF New England Grand Prix events was supposed to start on Nov 10, but has been delayed. It's likely to be ready on Friday, November 12. Whenever it starts, there will still be 7 days to cast a ballot. All votes must be USATF New England members age 18 and over.

You can find the voting procedure and information on all the bids at the Grand Prix webpage - usatf.org/gp. Opening of voting will be announced here, and all clubs will receive a notice as well.

Two USA National LDR Championships saw New Englanders in the mix over the weekend. On Saturday, Dave Dunham (CMS/Ward Hill MA) placed 10th overall and first M45-49 at the USA Trail Running Marathon at the Lithia Loop Trail Marathon in Ashland Oregon, covering the classic distance run off roads while accumulating more than 9,000 feet of elevation change (certainly not "flat and fast") in 3:03:25. Club teammate Tim Van Orden (Bennington VT) was 13th/6th 40-44 in 3:08:03, and Joseph Clark of Grantham NH ran 3:30:34 for 23rd/3rd M45. Overall winner was Max King of Oregon in 2:41:24. Results at usatf.org

Sunday's ING New York City Marathon served as the 2010 USA Women's Marathon Championship and brought the 2010 USA road race championship calendar to a close. In her debut at the distance, former Marblehead MA HS star Shalane Flanagan now living in Oregon, place second overall and won the US title in 2:28:40, 20 seconds off of winner Edna Kiplagat's 2:28:20. New Zealander Kim Smith, based in Providence, ran 2:29:28 for fifth overall in a close race up front. Jeanette Faber (BAA/Somerville MA) was 7th US/23rd overall in 2:39:41. Others among the top 15 US were Sheri Piers (Dirigo) 8th/24th/2:40:35; Kristen Barry (Dirigo) 11th/28th/2:42:01, and Heidi Westover 12th/31st/2:43:44. See lots of neat coverage at runnerspace.com.

Men's overall winner was Geb Gebrmariam (Ethiopia) in 2:08:14 with Meb Keflezighi first American (6th, 2:11:38) and first New Englander Daniel Nally (Arlington MA) in 50th, 2:31:06.

Katie DiCamillo wins the women's race
Photo: Steve Vaitones

Tim Ritchie and Katie DiCamillo took their first open New England cross country titles at Franklin Park on Sunday. Overcast and windy conditions with a damp course favored strength runners over the 6K women's and 10K men's courses.

DiCamillo (New Balance Boston, 20:51) outlegged teammate and two time defending NE champ Jenn Donovan by 16 seconds over the 6K course, the two swapping finishing places from 2009. Despite the 1-2 finish and the support of clubmates in 8-9-10, it was the B.A.A. who gained the win, packing their five scorers in places three through seven for a 25-30 edge.

Overall men's winner was Providence-based David McCarthy of Ireland. McCarthy moved well ahead of the competition in the final of five laps, as Ritchie (BAA) led the chasers to the tape with defending champ Lucas Meyer placed fifth. McCarthy's time of 30:06 was one tick behind last year's winning time, with Ritchie 15 seconds back; the latter led the BAA to the first perfect men's 15 point team total since scoring changed back from time to place in 1996. The Unicorn overall placings were 2,3,5,7,8,9,10,11. New Balance Boston placed second in both races. The Boston Athletic Association claimed both open team titles, followed by New Balance Boston in second and Gr.Boston TC (women) and Dirigo (men) taking bronze.

Similar to the women's race, the 2010 1-2 in the masters men's 8K were a pair of teammates who reversed last year's positions. Greater Springfield Harriers' Francis Burdett got the better of Kent Lemme by 8 seconds 26;22 to 26:30. They couldn't repeat as team winners, though, as Dirigo RC's finish spread was denser and bested the Harriers 43-60 with Green Mountain AA at 67. Breaking out the age groups, GMAA won the 50+ and 60+ divisions.

Women's masters ran with the open 6k runners, with Kara Haas (adidas New England) earning 40+ gold by placing 12th overall. Liberty AC swept the older divisions, finishing ahead of Cambridge Sports Union and Gr.Lowell RoadRunners in both the 40+ and 50+ totals, and fielding the only 60+ squad.

Other masters placers and team scores are with the results at usatfne.org/cross

Jacob Seavey leads a 1-2-3 Bradford school finish
Photo: Steve Vaitones

The second annual Massachusetts Middle School XC Invitational held at the Tewksbury town fields, drew a field nearly 50% larger than the initial race last year. Organized by USATF-NE and generously sponsored by Saucony, the spectator friendly course found saw 1300 runners cross the finish line in eight races. Tewksbury HS XC and Track Boosters provided excellent support in the first year at the site.

There were three grade races and a am championship race for both boys and girls. Girls winners were Alexandria Madamba (Melican/Northboro, grade 5-6), Leah Brams (Chenery/Belmont, grade 7), Sophia Collins (Bromfield, grade 8), and Sonja Jampel (F.A.Day/Newton, Championship, fastest time).

Boys winners included Jacob Seavey (Bradford, grade 5-6), Hersh Gupta (Diamond/Lexington, grade 7), Alcy Torres (Wellesley, grade 8) and McLean Sherrin (Curtis/Sudbury, Championship, fastest time).

The girls' team from Diamond of Lexington and the boys from R.J.Gray of Acton repeated their team victories of 2009. Full results at Coolrunning. Next youth cross country race is Sunday November 7 at Amherst MA, followed by the New England Junior Olympics in Burrillville RI.

You can see a video of last week's Mayor's Cup Cross Country meet at YouTube.

The meeting for bid presentations for the 2011 USATF-NE Grand Prix will be held Monday evening, November 1, at 7:00 p.m. at Gosman Athletic Center, Brandeis University, South Street, Waltham MA. This is the same site as the past few years.

The meting is solely for each bidding race to make a presentation and for members to ask questions. On November 8, a committee will review all bids and present several slates of events to voted on online from November 9 through November 16.

(From B.A.A. press story) Overcast skies and little wind greeted a record crowd at the 21st annual Mayor's Cup Cross Country races in Boston's Franklin Park on Sunday. The cross country event features a trio of 1.1 mile youth races, an open 5K, a 5K Women's Championship, and an 8K Men's Championship, and is annually presented by the B.A.A. and adidas, and directed by USA Track & Field - New England and Boston Centers for Youth and Fitness (BCYF).

In the 8K Men's Championship, Jon Phillips of the New York Athletic Club avenged his 18th place finish from 2009 with a winning time of 23:54. "It was coming off of Bear Cage Hill where I knew I wanted to push on the downhill, and that's where the big move was made" and he coasted to a three second victory ahead of Harbert Okuta (NY/Uganda). Top New Englander was Ruben Sanca (Boston / BAA) in fifth. The B.A.A. took the team title with 46 points with New Balance Boston placed second in with 72 points. Joseph Koech (Lowell MA/RUN) was the masters winner in 25:41.

In the 5K Women's Championship, Katie DiCamillo (Providence/New Balance Boston) used a late downhill surge to push past Reilly Kiernan of the NYAC for a two-second victory in a time of 17:06; DiCamillo had placed sixth in the event last year. With three finishers in the top 5, New Balance Boston won the Women's team competition with 28 points, ahead of the B.A.A. (55). The B.A.A.'s Mimi Fallon (Walpole MA) won the Masters division with a time of 19:57.

Winners in the three youth races were Jason Beaver (Empire One RC) and Michaela Jones (Waltham TC) in the 10 and under division, Michael Durkin (South Shore Fireboltz) and Leah Brams (Waltham TC) for the 11-12 runners, and Freddy Riviera (Y-Speed) and Maya Halprin-Adams (Cambridge Jets) in the 13-14 group. < p> The 21st Annual Mayor's Cup has grown by leaps and bounds since its inaugural running in 1990 with just one race and a handful of runners. Over time, the Mayor's Cup has matriculated into six events, more than one thousand participants, and a combined prize purse of $5,700 distributed to the winners. The B.A.A. and adidas have played host to the Mayor's Cup since 1997.

Full story and results link at baa.org.

A video recap of the event will be posted in the coming days at www.youtube.com/TheBostonMarathon, and at the website of the B.A.A., www.baa.org.

Registration for the 2011 Boston Marathon has closed.

The marathon filled with qualified runners in just over 8 hours (vs 65 days last year). There is no additional registration period, nor any plan to increase field size.
We're sorry, but USATF-NE has no ability to squeeze in "just one more".

Full information is available at baa.org

Caroline Bjune, women's winner at BayState Marathon.
Photo: Tom Derderian

A competitive men's race and a clear cut womem's winner produced the winners at the BayState Marathon in Lowell on Sunday. After the half marathoners peeled off the course, a lead pack of nine established itself. It whittled down over the double loop course along the Merrimack River until just BAA teammates Pat Moulton and Terry Shea were left with four miles to go. Shea built a 5 second lead with a mile to go but a tight hamstring brought him to a stop a quarter mile out and Moulton evened the match. Shea gamely raced his challenger, but Moulton's fresher legs prevailed and gave him a 3 second margin at the finish tape, recording a time of 2:24:41. Defending champ Brandon Newbold (Whirlaway), always among the leaders, came back strong for third in 2:25:05 in the deepest BayState field ever.

Caroline Bjune (adidas New England) had fewer challenges and cruised to a course record 2:49:14, 6 minutes up on MaryBeth Baxter (GBTC). Fifth overall was the top master, Lisa Kaplan (BAA).

Despite the 1-2 finish by the BAA, CMS went 6-7-9 and better total time for the team prize. The Unicorns placed second and secured the 2010 series win on the men's side. Whirlaway women swept all three race team divisions, and clinched the 40+ and 50+ series crowns; Greater Boston open women, second by just 33 seconds, were the 2010 open series winners.

The results closed with 1562 finishers and another 1490 completed the half marathon on a fine running day. Results at BayStateMarathon.com; full Grand Prix team and individual scoring will be posted usatfne.org/gp on Tuesday as there are a lot of scorers to verify.

Registration for the 2011 Boston Marathon will open on October 18, 2010 at 9:00 a.m., and be held exclusively online at baa.org. Registration is expected to fill quickly, and interested runners are encouraged to register early.

Qualifying standards for the 2011 Boston Marathon must be met on or after September 20, 2009 at a marathon certified by USA Track & Field (or foreign equivalent). The field size for the 115th Boston Marathon remains the same as 2010, and the registration fee will remain at $130 USD for residents of the USA. John Hancock Financial is the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon for the 26th consecutive year.

The marathon filled in just over 2 months last year, but the BAA anticipates that the race will fill far quicker for the 2011 event since the registration period has started later than last year, and more fall marathons where runners could qualify have taken place. There is a single registration period, beginning October 18 and closing when the maximum is reached, so qualified runners should not delay their entry.

Full registration information, including a list of qualifying marathons, and a list of the B.A.A.'s Official Charities for the Boston Marathon is available at baa.org

The final event in the 2010 USATF-New England Grand Prix seris takes place on Sunday at the BayState Marathon in Lowell. Registration is closed to all except current USATF-NE members as a record field is expected. While several individual division winners have clinched their winning positions, most team and many age division results are wide open until the completion of the 26.2 miles on Sunday.

Ironrunners, those completing all seven races this season, will receive their jackets at the awards ceremony, Check to see that you are on the list at usatfne.org/gp. Current team and individual standing can also be found at that site.

For the third consecutive year, Molly Huddle (Saucony) wore a gold medal on her hour drive home to Providence, winning the Columbus Day Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women in 32:00. The time was the second fastest winning time in the past decade, as Huddle joined Lynn Jennings and Joan Benoit-Samuelson as the only 3-time (or more) race winners.

The race unfolded similarly to last year, as after a 5:08 opening mile, the field whittled itself down from 7 to 5, 4, 3, and finally the pair of Huddle and 2009 runner-up Genoveva Kigen dropping Jen Rhines just before 5 miles. Repeating last year's finish, the duo turned onto the homestretch on Charles Street shoulder to shoulder but the US 5000 meter record holder had the best sprint finish, and won by 4 seconds to claim the Woolworth double, the 10K added to the 5K won at the CVS/Downtown race last month. Huddle's total winning margin in three Tufts 10K wins is just 10 seconds.

Olympian Rhines took third overall, running 32:16 for the championship silver, and 2 time past champion Katie McGregor took the bronze (4th overall) in 32:44.

The team competition was the largest and most national in more than a decade with 12 declared clubs. McMillan Project of Flagstaff Arizona was a fairly easy winner, followed by Boulder (CO) Running Company and defending champs New Balance Boston in third. Rounding out the prize money winners were Riadha (Baltimore MD) and the BAA.

The 34th annual race, the third largest all-women's race in the US and largest all women's 10K, marked the 25th anniversary of sponsorship by the Tufts Health Plan, a notable milestone in today's business world. Leading up to Monday's race, 18 women had run all 34 editions of the race. Joan Samuelson, after a 2:47 marathon in Chicago on Sunday, took to the road to loosen up and placed 2nd 50+ in 40:27 (!) and then greeted runners at the finish line for close to an hour.

Lots of pictures, video, and results link at runnerspace.com

Glarius Rop (AIC) won his second straight New England Collegiate XC title.
Steve photo

Corey Conner and Glarius Rop repeated their 2009 successes in winning the 98th New England championship at Franklin Park on Saturday. Conner, a junior from University of Maine out of Townsend MA (Northern Middlesex Regional HS) ran from the front from before the first mile to the finish, clocking 16:54 - sub-17:00 times have been rare in recent years. Rop, a sophomore at American International College in Springfield from Eldoret Kenya, was challenged for the first half of the race before pulling away to win and improve his time of last year.

Team results were contrasts in team strength; Boston College dominated the women's results, placing 2-3-4-5 and totaling just 26 points (lowest total since 2000) to runner-up Connecticut's 116. On the men's lists, teams were quite evenly matched as Dartmouth eked out a 2 point win over Boston University 138-140, the highest winning point total ever. 53 schools entered teams in at least one of the divisions, with nearly 1200 runners in the four races.
Full results and pictures at neicaaa.org.

On Sunday, the BAA Marathon results found a women's course record and fast times at the front of the men's race. This year's course was reversed, starting and finishing at Franklin Park. Though the bigger hills were in the final miles this time, they did not seem to affect times. Women's winner Caroline Rotich lowered the division standard to 1:10:52, nearly a minute up on her closest rival. The first two placers in the men's race, John Korir an Alan Kiprono, both recorded the same 1:02:21, with top local the BAA's Tim Ritchie in 10th, 1:07:52. The top 5 men's times in race history are all within 1 second of each other.

Results at baa.org.

The trails and streets of Boston will be alive with runners this weekend as three of the region's larger events converge on the city over Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Saturday, the 98th running of the New England Collegiate Cross COuntry Championships run at Franklin Park beginning at noon, as varsity and sub-varsity races are on tap for both men and women. Spectators are advised to take the Orange line of the "T" to the Park as parking is quite limited.
Sunday, Franklin Park will again be the nexus of action as the B.A.A. Half Marathon moves the start/finish of its traditional out-and-back loop to the former turnaround location at the Playstead Field area near Franklin Park Zoo (running out to the Fenway area and back). This tenth edition features world level runners who will take aim at the event records, though this year's course may prove tougher with the uphill sections in the final miles this time. The field has been full since August, and please, do not "bandit" the race! (and, as with the XC race, use the "T").

The final event in the weekend triad is the 34th running of the Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women, the USA 10K Road Race Championship and one of the largest women's races in the country. It makes its tour of the Charles River and Back Bay area out of the Boston Common. Race favorite will be Molly Huddle of Providence, hot off her US 5000m US track record, and US 5K road title last month. Runners can still register for the Tufts race on race morning from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m.
If you are not running, take in one of these traditional October events on what looks to be an ideal fall weekend.

Three reigning national road race champions will lead a talented group of U.S. distance runners October 16 at the 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Nanning, China. USA Track & Field announced the team roster on Wednesday. 2010 U.S. road champions leading Team USA at the World Half Marathon Championships include: Sean Quigley (Philadelphia, PA), product of Archbishop Williams HS in Braintree MA who was the 2009 Mayor's Cup cross country championship winner, and who scored a decisive win at the USA 20 km Championships in New Haven, Conn., last month is part of the five man team. The women's squad includes multi-time New England marathon champ Heidi Westover (Walpole, NH), who finished 10th at the New Haven 20K

Team Kenya has their sights on a fifth consecutive team title in both races. Last year, the Team USA men finished fourth, while the Team USA women took fifth. The complete press announcement.

Start of the PRMH 5K / NE Women's Championship.
Photo by Tom Derderian

Providence College alumna and resident Katie DiCamillo (New Balance Boston/Providence RI) used familiar roads to record a strong win at Sunday's USATF-NE 5K Women's Road Race Championship held with the Providence Ronald McDonald House 5K on Sunday in Rhode Island. DiCamillo ran 16:49 to gain her first New England championship honor, 27 seconds ahead of Kristin Murphy of the BAA; 453 participants completed the course in the women's only race.

Taking the age division prizes were Maria Servin (40+, Middleboro MA), Jacqueline Shaker (50+, Central Mass Striders), and Carol L'Esperance (60+, Gr.Springfield Harriers).

The team competition was decided by just 7 seconds, with Greater Boston TC, led by Gretchen Chick in third, edging New Balance Boston 1:29:18 to 1:29:25 among the nine scoring clubs the winners and solidifying their open division series lead. Whirlaway bettered CMS in the 40+ scoring, but CMS turned the tables on Whirlaway to win among age 50+ teams.

The 2010 Grand Prix comes to a close at the BayState Marathon on Sunday, October 17 in Lowell MA. The event is sold out, but USATF-NE members can still gain entry by contacting the race committee directly baystatemarathon.com.

Eight national masters records were recorded at the USA 1 Hour Race Walk Championship held on the Bentley University track in Waltham MA on Sunday morning. The event, hosted by USATF-New England and New England Walkers,

Women's winner, 2004 Olympian Theresa Vaill (W45+, FL) set the first mark, covering 12,813 meters in the hour. The remaining records came in the men's event, won by Dan Serianni (Buffalo NY, 12,920 meters); walker-up Dave McGovern (NY) scored M40 marks at the 3,000 meters and 15,000 meters (as the race was sanctioned for the extended distance), his World Class Race Walking teammate Chris Schmid (OH) covered an M60 record 11,678m hour and broke the 15K mark, and Leon Jasionowski (MI) M65, etched new hour (10,839m), 10K, and 3,000m listings.

New England champion was Bob Keating (Nashua NH, 10,846m) (no NE women). Stats and pictures at usatfne.org/walk/

A trio of New England masters ran to USA 5K Championship gold medals at the USA 5K Championships held at the Syracuse (NY) Festival of Races on Sunday. Reno Stirrat (Whirlaway/Dorchester MA) won the men's 50-54 division in 16:53, 27 seconds over second place. In the women's results a pair of Liberty AC runners topped their divisions; Carrie Parsi (26:00, Gloucester MA) and Mary Harada (29:00, W.Newbury MA) led the 70-74 and 75-79 runners, respectively.

Other race medalists from the association included Francis Burdett (2-M45, Worcester, 15:36, 4th overall), 70 - 74 3 Frank Hurt (3-M70, White Mtn Milers/Laconia NH, 23:06), and Linda Jennings (3-F55, Tewksbury MA, 20:55). Kent Lemme (Gr.Springfield/Williamstown MA) was 4th M40, and 6th overall (15:38), as six New England men in three different divisions placed in the top 20.

The Green Mountain AA brought home the men's 60+ division title with a scoring trio of Edward McSweeney (18:53), Charles Arnold (19:28), and Ted McKnight (21:00). The Vermonters also placed second in the M50+ scoring, led by Norm Larson (16:24).
Results at usatf.org.

The winning New Balance Boston team at the CVS Downtown 5K (Photo: SV photo)

The winning New Balance Boston team at the CVS Downtown 5K.
SV photo

Molly Huddle (Saucony/Providence RI) added another jewel to her 2010 crown of honors, winning the USA 5K Road Race Championship held at the CVS/Downtown 5K in Providence on Sunday. The US record holder on the track had a comfortable 11 second margin at the finish with her 15:47 time, and earned $8000 for her effort. Jenn Donovan (New Balance Boston/Brighton MA) and Jennifer Campbell (BAA/Watertown MA) were 6th (16:52) and ninth (17:24) in the USA result (9/12 overall), while Stephanie Reilly (NBB/Grafton MA / IRE) was 7th.

The men's race came down to the final steps as new US citizen Robert Cheserat (USArmy/Colorado Springs) strode by Ben Bruce (Oregon TC) feet from the tape for a .2 second win in 14:00. Top local placings in the championship were Nate Jenkins (Saucony/Lowell MA) and Ruben Sanca (BAA/Boston) in eighth and ninth (9-10 overall) with times of 14:25 and 14:30.

New Balance Boston (pictured) was the women's team winner and Greater Springfield harriers took home the men's team award.

Rhode Island's largest race had 5977 finishers in the 5K, as well as several thousand in the 21 separate youth races. Pictures, results, and video are at runnerspace.com. On Columbus Day, the Tufts 10K for Women in Boston host the USA Women's 10K Championship. We hope more local clubs will declare scoring teams at the Tufts 10.

The USATF New England Annual Meeting held on Thursday, September 16, was a mixture of recognition and business, with elections for all positions the key business of the day. The largest (nearly 100) and longest annual meeting in years was held in Waltham MA.

The meeting prelude was the Athlete of the Month presentations for the past 12 months, coordinated by Vice President John Oleski. President Ken Robichaud opened the business meeting with brief presentations from chairs and officers supplemented printed reports. (reports will be posted on the Board page next week).

Elections were next on the agenda, with Steve Viegas (Mass Velocity / Reading MA) elected for a two-year term as president. It took four ballots, including two ties, before the candidate had a winning margin, ultimately winning over Tom Derderian by 4 votes. The three vice presidents for the coming term will include returnees Jim Garcia (GrLowellRR/Westford MA), and John Oleski (MassVelocity/Belmont MA), joined by Joan Bohlke (New Balance Boston/Waltham MA) who was an athlete rep for two years. Past President Gary Snyder (Mass Velocity/Boston) will take over as secretary, and Stephen Peckiconis (Cambridge Sports Union/Boston) will continue in the treasurer position.

All Sports committee chairs will be continuing their activities; only Youth and Cross Country had contested elections. Incumbents Courtney Bird (Falmouth TC/Falmouth MA), Lisa Doucett (CSU/Andover MA), and Skip Cleaver (GCS Triad/Nashua NH) and continue as men's, women's and masters' Long Distance Running chairs.

Dave Callum (Gr.Boston TC/Braintree MA) and Mike Travers (Mass Velocity/Watertown MA) continue responsibilities for Open and Masters Track and Field Chairs, while Larry Libow (Mass Velocity/Springfield MA) continues as Youth Committee Chair. Paul Kirsch (White Mtn Milers/Conway NH) will still oversee Mountain-Ultra-Trail Running as will Justin Kuo (NEWalkers/Brookline MA) with Race Walking, and Bill Newsham (GCS/Brookline NH) takes over Cross Country.

Athletes representatives completed the elections, and two of three will lend a new voice to the board. Holdover Caitlyn Clark (SISU Project/Worcester MA), will be joined by Jennifer Lee (GBTC/Boston) and Tiera Fletcher (GBTC/Boston)

Sixteen delegates and alternates were voted to represent the New England association at the USATF National annual meeting in Virginia Beach, in December.

USATF-New England "President's Awards" were presented at the association's annual meeting to several individuals and organizations who have long been contributors to the sport in the association.

Michael Glennon (Needham MA) and Brookline (MA) High School cross country were recognized with the Volunteer Service Award. A supporter of the sport for over a decade, Glennon has led his squad to Franklin Park each fall to provide volunteers for USATF-NE development meets, the Mayor's Cup, and New England championship events. The also provide many workers for major fall road races in the area. The team has also been honored in the past with the Mass.Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) service award. "It teaches them what is behind the events they participate in", he's noted.

The 2010 Youth Service Award is shared by the inseparable duo who lead the Sentinel Striders, Joe Bennett and Jeff Kurbec, both of Smithfield RI. The Sentinels, among the largest, most active, and most successful youth cross country programs in the northeast, has been the host club for the Junior Olympic meet when it is run in Rhode Island (over 20 times since 1980), and helped stage the national Junior Olympic Cross Country meets in 1993 and 2005.

The "Gerry Cantor Officials Award" given regularly - but not necessarily annually - for service as an official to NE association events. The third ever honoree is Jim McGloin of Amesbury NH, a fixture in the field events, specializing in the multi-events. He's led the multi events crews at the USA Masters Indoor and the Nike Indoor Nationals in recent years. He also works at New England championship events in the jumps and has presented clinics nationally on the high jump.

A summary of all New England award winners through the years can be found at the New England Honors page.

Jim Wilcox of Fall River, Mass., has been appointed to the position of chairman of the USA Track & Field - New England Officials Committee. He will oversee the national certification process and offcials eductaton in the association which covers Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Currently the president of Massachusetts Track & Field Officials Association, Wilcox has served in a lead officials role at a number of national championships including the USA National Indoor Track & Field Championships, the USA Masters Chapionships, and the Nike Indoor HS Nationals, as well as many local scholastic, collegiate, and club meets in the region. He will utilize other officials in the four states to assist in promoting certification of offcials and processing the rules review exams.

Information on becoming a certified official can be found at the Officials page.

The Annual Meeting of the USATF New England association will take place on Thursday, September 16 at the Doubletree Guest Suites Hotel, 550 Winter Street, Waltham MA, at I-95 Exit 27-B. The meeting begins with Athlete of the Month Awards at 6:30 p.m., followed by the business meeting at 7:15 p.m. Reports, programs recent and future, as well as awards will be presented.

Elections will begin at 8 p.m. All board positions are up for vote this year. Officers terms are 2 years, and sports chairs and athlete reps have 1 year terms. Individuals planning to run for positions at this time:

President: Tom Derderian (GBTC), Jim Garcia (GLRR), Steve Viegas (Mass Velocity)
Vice President (up to 3 may be elected): John Oleski (Mass Velocity) (Incumbent)
Secretary: None declared
Treasurer: Stephen Peckiconis (CSU) (Incumbent)
Men's Distance Running: Courtney Bird (FalmouthTC) (Incumbent)
Women's Distance Running: Lisa Doucett (CSU) (Incumbent)
Masters Distance Running: Skip Cleaver (GCS) (Incumbent)
Open Track & Field: Dave Callum (Gr.Boston TC) (Incumbent)
Masters Track & Field: Mike Travers (Mass Velocity) (Incumbent)
Race Walking: Justin Kuo (NEWalkers) (Incumbent)
Mountain/Ultra/Trail: Paul Kirsch (White Mtn Milers) (Incumbent)
Youth Athletics: Larry Libow (Mass Velocity) (Incumbent)
Cross Country: None declared

Also

Athlete Representative (3)
Ignacio Arguello (Patriot PV)
Joan Bohlke (New Balance Boston) (Incumbent)
Caitlyn Clark (SISU Project) (Incumbent)
Jim Fay (North Medford Club)
Matthew Haringa (Gr.Boston TC)
Dan Hocking (New Balance Boston)
Jennifer Lee (Gr.Boston TC)

Bob Cedrone of Canton Massachusetts is the USA Track & Field - New England (USATF-NE) Athlete of the Month for August 2010. Cedrone, age 55, won three of National Masters (age 40+) Championship throwing events during the month in his age group (55-59).

At the 2010 USA Master Throws Championships in Lisle, Illinois, Cedrone won the Throws Pentathlon (combined scores from the shot put, discus, javelin, hammer, and weight throw), the Ultra Pentathlon (a collection of heavier weights), and the individual Super Weight throw. Making his achievements more impressive is that he achieved this after two hip replacement surgeries in the past decade. A competitive thrower since starting at Canton High School, he was an All-American at Bates College, competed at the open level, and has been a regular on the masters circuit for many years. He now represents the Twilight Throwers club, and plans to participate in the World Masters Championships to be held in Sacramento, California, in 2011.

A full list of the year's Athletes of the Month are at this website's Awards page.

The USA men's team took the silver medal at the 26th World Mountain Running Championships held in Kamnik, Slovenia, on Sunday. New England Mountain Running champ Eric Blake (BAA) finished 27th overall and was fourth scorer for the USA squad.

The USA team's previous best was a bronze in 2008; their 71 points trailed only Eritrea which finished 5 runners (4 score) in the top 9 overall for 13 points. This year's race was up-hill-only, as the USA senior team was selected at the 50th Mt. Washington Road Race in June.

USA women were the first to finish their four runner team (8.5K 3000+ foot gain), led by Kristin Price in 12th (2nd at Mt.Washington), but it was good for just fourth place in the competitive competition won by Italy. The USA Junior women's were 13th among 17 teams (2 score, 4.5k) and the Junior men placed 9th of 19 teams (8.5K).

USATF-NE Mountain/Ultra/Trail chairman Paul Kirsh served as team manager on the trip. Former NE MUT Chair Rich Bolt was 7th in the open race. Full stories and results at the championship website.

The 2011 World Mountain Running Championships will be held on an up-and-down loop course in Albania on September 11.

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced U.Mass-Lowell distance running star Ruben Sanca has been awarded one of three Division II post-graduate scholarships for 2010. The other two awardees were Stephanie Charnigo of Findlay (OH) and Stephanie Grimm of Kutztown (NJ).

Sanca, a native of Boston, won the post-graduate scholarship representing men's cross country. In 2008, Sanca led UMass Lowell's team to a 13th-place showing at the national cross country championships with a top-40 individual showing. That same season, Sanca won the NCAA East Region title and his River Hawks won the regional team title. This past outdoor track season, Sanca earned All-America honors outdoors in the 5000 and 10,000 meters.

To be eligible and considered for a post-graduate scholarship, a student-athlete must have completed collegiate eligibility in all sports, earned an overall minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25, participated in NCAA D-II championship competition, or met NCAA D-II provisional qualifying standards in an indoor or outdoor track and field event, or earned All-Region honors for cross country and demonstrated leadership qualities and community service activities as a member of their team.

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is a non-profit professional organization representing cross country and track & field coaches of all levels. The USTFCCCA serves as an advocate for cross country and track & field coaches, providing a leadership structure to assist the needs of a diverse membership, serving as a lobbyist for coaches' interests, and working as a liaison between the various stakeholders in the sports of cross country and track & field. (From USTFCCCA media announcement)

At the annual summer workshop of USATF, our New England association was recognized as one of only 8 of the 57 USATF associations nationwide to meet and exceed member service award criteria.

New England and three other associations earned the bronze award for meeting 9 required and 9 additional program and population based standards; only our overall number of members per 100,000 population kept us from the gold plaque. Four associations met the gold association criteria by having higher numbers in the population based criteria.

Thanks to those individuals whose volunteer work continues to make New England a leader in the national organization.

NE Mountain Running champ Gina Lucrezi (Inov-8 / Medway MA) took her skills to the national stage and won the USA 10K Trail Running Championship held at the Continental Divide Trail Race in Laurel Springs, NC. The report indicates a very difficult course with four steep up/down hills and an 18m section which requires athletes to use both hands and feet to scramble up an embankment. In the men's race, Tim van Orden (CMS / Bennington VT) earned the USA Masters title and finished fifth overall.

In weather conditions perfect for distance running, and in front of a packed stadium, Molly Huddle (Providence RI / Saucony) broke the American record in the women's 5,000 meters at the Belgacom Memorial van Damme meet in Brussels, Belgium, the final meeting of the IAAF Samsung Diamond League. Huddle clocked 14:44.76, narrowly beating Shalane Flanagan's previous record. Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya won the race in which 13 women broke 15 minutes; Huddle finished in 10th.

The next day, Bernard Lagat set the American record in the men's 3,000m in Rieti Italy. He finished second in the race to Tariku Bekele (ETH) who won in a world-leading 7:28.70; Lagat's time of 7:29.00 broke the previous US mark of 7:30.84 set by Bob Kennedy in 1998.
And in the same meet, David Rudisha of Kenya broke the World Record at 800 meters for the second time this season with a time of 1:41.01. Wow!

Four time Olympian (1956 Olympic gold medalist) and six-time world record setter in the hammer throw, Harold Connolly passed away on Wednesday at the age of 79. Recently a resident of Virginia, Connolly was a Massachusetts native, and attended Brighton HS in Boston, as well as Boston College. He won nine US titles in the event, and three more in the weight throw. In recent years, he was instrumental in developing, coaching, and promoting the hammer throw with youth, including getting the event into the Junior Olympics at all levels for the older two age groups.

BAA runners Brian Harvey and Lesley Hocking were the tape-breakers at Saturday's Bridge of Flowers 10K in Shelburne Falls MA, the USATF New England 10K Championship.

Harvey broke from the pack after the almost-two mile loop through town, built the gap to 33 seconds up and down Crittendon Hill to the end as he secured his second straight GP series win. Nate Krah (adidas NE) took silver and GP leader Matt Ely (BAA) retained his lead with a third place finish.

Hocking built a lead in miles 2 through 5, but was caught by 2009 GP champ Sara Donoghue who has spent the year battling injuries. The BAA runner regained the lead, and held off GBTC's finest across the bridge and up to the finish to win by 4 seconds in 37:34. Schenectady New York master Emily Bryans ran an excellent race for third overall. The men's race results were unusual in the fact that no masters broke into the top 25, while nearly half of the matching women's placers were over 40.

Joe Donnelly (GCST) scored his first ever GP points to take the masters title over Kent Lemme and Wayne Levy, with Craig Fram (Whirlaway), Gordon MacFarland (CSU), and Harry Carter (BAA) taking the other age divisions. NE masters age group winners were Barbara McManus CMS, 40+, Nancy Corasaro (WRT, 50+), Carol L'Esperance (GSH, 60+), and Judith Williams (GSH, 70+).

B.A.A. men (5 of top 11) and Greater Boston TC women (5 of top 15) were unchallenged team winners. In an "every second counts" example, CMS men edged Whirlaway for second place by a single tick of the watch after totaling over 2 hours 48 minutes of time placings.

Next race on tap is the women's only 5K at the Providence Ronald McDonald House 5k on October 3, the men having covered that distance in June at the Rhody 5K. Series finale is the BayState Marathon on October 17.

Note that BayState is closed except for NE club runners who are USATF members. Please enter as soon as possible, and do so by contacting the race director directly.

Several masters throwers did some heavy lifting to win medals at the USA Masters Throws Championship in Lisle, Illinois last weekend. The competition championships contested over the two days included the Weight Throw, Superweight, Throws Pentathlon, and Ultra Weight Pentathlon (really heavy weights).

Returning home as a triple winner was Bob Cedrone (Twilight Throwers/Canton MA), who took the M55 title in the superweight and both pentathlons (as well as bronze in the weight). Bill Garrahan (Twilight Throwers/Narragansett RI) was a double gold medalist in the M80 division, taking the weight and the throws pentathlon. Carl Wallin (M65, BAA/Hanover NH) tossed a pair of silver (Throws Pent, Weight) and Jim Burgoyne (M45, Twilight Throwers/Tewksbury MA) was second and third in the Ultra and Throws Pentathlons, respectively.

Full results are on the USA Championships page at the usatf.org.

There's an opportunity to learn about racewalking this weekend at a clinic for beginning and experienced racewalkers in Portsmouth, NH, at the Spinnaker Point Recreation Facility this Sunday, August 15, at 9:00 a.m.

Guest instructor is Dr. Tom Eastler, long time race walking coach and judge, who was the driving force in getting the walk into the Maine high school program and who has coached a number of all-Americans. The cost is $25 total for clinic and use the facilities at Spinnaker Point. Wear shorts and racewalking shoes, racing flats or running shoes. For more info, contact New England Walkers member Jay Diener, coastwalker AT comcast.net.

A week late, but we want to recognize those masters who won medals at the USA Masters Track & Field Championships in Sacramento at the end of July; there were a lot of age groups to sift through.

As seems to be the case at recent nationals Flo Meiler (Shelburne, VT) mined the most ore. In the W75 division, she had gold in the pole vault (US record), discus, and 80 meter hurdles, silvers in the long jump and javelin, and bronze in the 100m, triple jump and 200 meters.

Also winning multiple medals was Barbara Jordan (W70, S.Burlington, VT) with wins in the long jump and 80 hurdles, second in the 100, and third in the 200. Double event winners were Mary Harada (W75, Newbury, MA) in the 1500m and 5000m - both American Records - and Dennis Branham (M80 Providence, RI) in the same events (as well as a 2nd in the 400). Other medalists included: Leonard Rosen (M75, Salem, NH) 2nd shot put and discus; Bob Cedrone (M55, Stoughton, MA) 2nd, hammer; Buzz Gagne (M60, Penacook, NH) 2nd, javelin; Roger Pierce (M65, Essex, MA) 3rd 100, 200, and 400; Deborah Kovacs (W35, Groton, MA), 3rd, 100 and 200; Carroll Blake (M60, Boston,MA) 3rd, 200; Richard Harrison (M40, Nashua NH), 1st, shot put.

The World Masters meet will run at the same facility in Sacramento next July; entry information is at www.wma2011.com (note the very early deadline). Start training!

Waltham Track Club's Carla Forbes (Hyde Park MA) was a double winner in the Intermediate Girls (age 15-16) divsion, at the USATF Junior Olympic Championships last week in Sacramento. Back on form after a viral infection in June, the high school soph-to-be first took the triple jump in 39'4", an event she won in the Youth division last year, and came back to win the long jump in 18'4.5", capping a successful season.

Right behind her for silver in the triple in 39'0.5" was Mollie Gribbin (Montpelier VT), who had actually won the New England JO meet. The only New England boy to make the medal podium was also from Vermont, Mike DiMambro of Essex Junction, eighth in the Young Men's decathlon, and Katie Cataldo (Worlds Longest Throw/Attleboro MA) placed seventh in the Young Women's javelin, 123'5". (Let us know of any additions, as there were a _lot_ of results to wade through!

The national level of youth track and field can be a learning experience for those in the northeast, as even intermediate age group performances in some events would be competitive with New England collegians. Congratulations to all from our association who qualified for and headed west for the event; JO Nationals will be in Kansas in 2011.

Check out the complete age group results at www.usatf.org.

New England Mountain Circuit champion Gina Lucrezi took second place at the USA 15-K Trail Run Championships in Spokane, WA on Saturday. Top NE male (and first master runner) was Tim Van Orden (CMS / Bennington VT), sixth in 56:36. The husband and wife team of Ian Dobson and Julia Lucas from the Nike Oregon Track Club took a break from their track specialties and were overall winners.

In Willoughby Ohio, local runners pulled in a pair of bronze medals at the USA 100 Mile Trail Championships. Jack Pilla, 52, of Charlotte VT, covered the century in 16:22:54, while Larissa Abramiuk, 41, of Wayland MA ran the distance in 19:15:09.

Full results can be found at www.usatf.org.

Recent Boston University grad Andrea Walkonen (Jaffrey NH) placed third in Saturday's Quad City Times Bix 7 Miler, in Davenport IA, the USA 7 mile road championship. Taking gold was NCAA 10,000 meter champ Lisa Koll of Iowa in 37:52, 51 seconds ahead of Walkonen. Joan Samuelson (Freeport ME) was 14th overall, and first master at 53 (43:11).

On the men's side New England alum and 2009 Mayor's Cup cross country champ Sean Quigley placed third, just 10 seconds behind winner Ryan Hall.

Quality performances from young and old local competitors as the weekend begins . Providence College freshman Shelby Greany placed 10th in the World Junior Championships in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, on Thursday. Running 10:18.74 in her trial heat on Tuesday to qualify for the final, Greany was involved with several other competitors in a fall in the steeplechase pit that put her out of the medal running; her qualifying for the finals and time of 10:27.33 was still a great way to end her long season. Folow the meet at www.iaaf.org.

On the west coast, Mary Harada (Liberty AC/W.Newbury MA) added another age group record in the first event of the USA Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, breaking the US W75-59 mark for 5000 meters with her winning time of 26:55.11, 15 seconds better than the existing 19 year old record. She is entered in two more events in the meet, which runs through Sunday. Further New Englander medal performances will be noted here next week; daily updated of the results at www.usatf.org.

Wayne Levy maintains the 40+ division lead with a win at Stowe. (Photo: SV photo)

Wayne Levy maintains the 40+ division lead with a win at Stowe.
SV photo

B.A.A. teammates Brian Harvey and Katie Twarog took the wins Sunday's 29th annual Stowe 8 Miler in Vermont. An even 1000 entrants produced 884 finishers on a most scenic course surrounded by the Green Mountains, and, unlike several prior years of championship status, July temperatures were not accompanied by oppressive humidity this time.

Harvey had 14 seconds on Justin Fyffe (CMS) who broke up a potential Unicorn sweep of the medals; Fyffe outlegged Mountain Circuit champ Eric Blake and continuing GP leader Matt Ely. Twarog was one overall place ahead of Caroline Bjune (adidas New England, the margin of victory just one second per mile. The winners led their B.A.A. open teams to team wins, a five minute gap for the men, but the women's race found adidas NE and Gr.Boston TC both within 43 seconds.
In age group results, Wayne Levy (BAA) topped the men's 40+ crowd with Craig Fram (Whirlaway), Gordon MacFarland and Harry Carter (BAA) leading the 50+, 60+ and 70+ lists, respectively. In the women's results, NE division winners were Barb McManus (CMS, 40+), Cathy Merra (GCS Triad, 50+), and Dot Helling (CVR, 2nd overall 60+).

The performances by fifty-plus duo Fram and Merra, both third overall masters, were the top age-graded times of the race. Whirlaway swept the 40+ and 50+ team cups, and the local Green Mountain AA crew took 60+ honors (and second in the M40/50 scoring).

Standings are updated at the gp page, and results are at stowe8miler.org.

Next on the schedule - Bridge of Flowers 10K in Shelburne Falls MA on August 14; pre-entry is online only.

Member club Narragansett Running Association of Rhode Island is the recipient of one of 14 Youth Grants given to track clubs around the country to assist with program expenses of many types. The club runs a summer-long series that serves several hundred youth each week.

USA Track & Field Foundation Executive Director Tom Jackovic noted, "It is very rewarding to assist so many young people with opportunities to compete in track & field. This is where it all starts, with clubs like these."

Find out more about the USATF Foundation (run as a separate organization from USATF's national office) at usatffoundation.org.

Reminder A few more late season meets have been added to the TF schedule
- Sat-Sun, July 17-18 - Empire Sate Liberty Tour Championship, Valatie NY. Full schedule including multi-events, now open to states
- Saturdays July 17, 31, and August 14 - Vaultarama series, Westborough MA HS. Pole Vault for all.
- Saturday, August 7 - MIT Summer Classic Series 2 - MIT. Almost full meet (no long throws) for open, youth, masters. Includes Pole Vault Team Competition.
- Thursday, August 12 - George and Whitey King 4 x 1600 Relay, South Boston MA, 7:15 pm. Open event for clubs and pick-up teams

Links are at the TF schedule page.

The 2010 USATF-NE Mountain Circuit at the summit of Mt.Ascutney in Windsor VT on Sunday, with the winners coming as a surprise to no one. Eric Blake and Gina Lucrezi completed perfect seasons in being first to the finish of the shortest but steepest of the series six - climbing 2300 feet with an average 12% grade. For the just the third time, both the men's and women's winners had perfect scores, though the previous times (1996-1997), there were only three races in the circuit. Blake set a new course in the final race, running the 3.7 mile race to the summit in 28:16, nearly 2 minutes on Karl Remson of Colorado and another minute-plus over Jim Johnson (CMS) Lucrezi got her perfect 600 with a finishing time of 37:48, the 5th fastest time ever for a woman at Mt. Ascutney, and a minute and a half better than Dawn Roberts (GSH).

Results

With the sweep, Lucrezi was the hands-down circuit winner with 500.00 points. Behind her up were a pair of 2009 winners; last year's open champ Abby Mahoney (CMS/Inov-8) at 479.20 and masters repeater Karen Encarnacion (SRR) at 461.33.

The closest division was W50-59 where Donna Smyth (CSU) edged teammate and four time division winner Lisa Doucett by just .2 point, 419.62-419.42. Also taking age wins were Haley Heinrich (WMM / Wolfboro NH) 19 and under, 384.35; Linda Usher (CMS/Upton MA), 60-69, 71.25; and Barbara Robinson (GCS/NH) 70+, 61.12, the latter two running just one race each,

His perfect record also gave Blake the series title (500.00) ahead of Jim Johnson (CMS), 480.56, who beat bronze medalist Kevin Tilton (CMS) up Ascutney to eke out a .5 point circuit edge.

Age diversity in the circuit was evidenced by three age division winners in the overall top 10 scorers; Todd Callaghan (GCS), 40-49, 4th, 463.52; 19 and under Michael Robinson (GDTC), 8th, 403.10, and Paul Bazanchuk (WMM) 50-59, 10th, 392.51. Other age winners were Vincent Rivard (NMC), 60-69, 328.12, and Frank Hurt (WMM), 70+, 288.17.

There were record fields in four of the six races, and a record 105 runners earned "Mountain Goat" status for finishing all six events. Blake and Lucrezi took it a step further, as they were 11 for 11 in the races they entered. Final standings are temporarily at coolruning.com but will also be posted at the USATF-NE mountain/trail/ultra page.

Greater Boston Track Club placed fourth (165 points) at the USA Club National meet in San Francisco over the weekend. Central Park TC (NY) was an easy winner with 288 points, and ConnQuest of Connecticut was sixth with 110. GBTC was the only New England association club to send athletes to the meet.

The men in red placed seventh among men's squads with 49 points, as Central Park won that division. Norfolk Real Deal TC won the women's side by 2 points over CPTC with Greater Boston third.

GBTC had four individual winners in the meet - Hector Cotto (110 hurdles, 13.91; Jessica Klett (400H, 1:02.63); Casey Taylor (Long Jump, 18-7.25); and Ayanna Alexander (Triple Jump, 43-7).

Full results are at usatf.org. The meet returns the the east coast in 2011.

Waltham Track Club's Laurie Femmel (Natick MA) won the Young Women's division 400 meter hurdles at the USATF Youth Championship meet in Lisle IL over the weekend. The junior to be from Natick MA clocked 1:03.51 for the lap over the barriers, her second best time ever and winning by .9 seconds. She was only seventh fastest coming out of the trial round.

Teammate Amanda Pasko (Wellesley MA) was tenth in the Youth Girls Pentathlon; hitting a hurdle in the first of the five pent events kept her from a higher placing.

On the other end of the competitive spectrum at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene OR - the second of two international "Diamond League" meets in the USA - a trio of New England natives ran among the fields of world's best athletes. A pair of men dropped their personal bests way down in the mile; Andrew Wheating (Norwich VT), in his last race in U.Oregon colors, was fifth in the first section of the mile in 3:51.74, and Russell Brown (Hanover NH) ran eighth in section two in 3:56.92. Overall, 20 runners broke 4:00 in the two sections combined. Shalane Flanagan (Marblehead MA) ran second in the 5000 in 14:49.08.

Eric Blake's only competition at Loon was a heavy-set local.
Photo: scottmasonphoto.com

Repeating a headline for the fourth time this season that only needed a location change, Eric Blake ()BAA) and Gina Lucrezi (INOV-8) were first at Sunday's Loon Mountain 5.5+ mile race, the fifth hill in the 2010 Mountain Circuit. Blake, who earned a spot on the US Mountain Running team for the world championships with his finish at Mt.Washington on June 19, punctuated his fourth circuit win in four starts with an eye-popping 2:29 margin over last week's winner at Cranmore, Kevin Tilton (CMS) with 2009 NE marathon champ Brandon Newbould (Whirlaway) another half minute back.

Lucrezi made it a gloveful, placing 18th among 208 finishers who took the challenge, as she'll be attempting a perfect season at Ascutney on July 11. The news was in a new runner-up, as Dawn Roberts (GSH) was 2:26 behind the champ. Karen Encarnacion (BAA) took bronze, and she and Todd Callaghan (GCST) matched their 40+ wins of the previous week, fourth and third overall, respectively. Richard Morris (Franconia, 1:01:54) and Lisa Doucett (CSU, 1:10:32) were fastest 50+, while Donovan Freeman (Andover NH) was first 60+ in 1:05:47, and Frank Hurt (WMM) best of the 70+ at 1:21:40.

With over 2,200' of hill climb over the course, few competitors were able to complete the Walking Boss hill section without modifying their pace to a walk; great pix, including an encounter Blake had with a "local" on the course at scottmasonphoto.com . Results at coolrunning.com. The 2010 circuit winds up at the top of Mt.Ascutney in Vermont next Sunday.

Many New England association athletes made the medal stand and set personal bests in the Region I Junior Olympics held at picturesque Bowdoin College in Brunswick ME last weekend.

Eight NE association competitors were double winners (one a triple winner):

Midget Boys - Shayne Simpson, Prov.Cobras, 100/200; David Principe, TNT, 1500/3000; Dominic Cirillo, Wilbraham MA, Shot put/Discus/Javelin.
Youth Girls - Margaret Barrie, Manchester NH, 100/200; Colleen Sands Princeton, MA 1500/3000; Katie HoSang, Granite State Flash, 400/High Jump;
Youth Boys - Nicholas Schutz, Brookline NH, 100/Long Jump;
Intermediate Boys - Justin Conor, Holden MA, 110H/400H;
Young Women - Melissa Derrico, Newburyport MA, Shot Put/Discus

Additionally, it was a family affair in the multi-events where brothers Nathan, Paul, and Luke Halberstadt (Waltham TC) won the Bantam Triathlon, Midget Pentathlon, and Youth Pentathlon, respectively.
Full results for the Region I Meet can be found at the Maine USATF site.
Athletes who finished in the top 3 in their events (top 2 in multi-events) can sign up for nationals at CoachO.com from July 1-17.

Kevin Tilton and Gina Lucrezi took the wins at the Mt.Cranmore Hill Climb, USATF-NE Mountain Championship and fourth race in the 2010 Mountain Circuit, on Sunday. It was the first circuit win of the year for Tilton - Eric Blake won the first three events - who led Jim Johnson (CMS) and 2010 US Mountain Running Team member Tommy Manning (Colorado) to the finish after two up-and-down loops on the mountain. Lucrezi made it four for four, finishing the 11.4 km ahead of Abby Mahoney who took the bridesmaid's place for the fourth time this circuit, 25 seconds behind the winner. Todd Callaghan (GCST) and Karen Encarnacion (BAA) were masters winners. Race director Paul Kirsch delegated well enough to run and finish 30th of 181 finishers.

No time to rest; race 5 of 6 is this coming Sunday, July 4, at Loon Mountain.

Mary Harada (Liberty AC / West Newbury MA) established a new World Masters Record in the mile for Women 75-79 at last weekend's Hayward Masters Classic in Eugene OR, clocking 7:55.74 for the distance. That time beat her own pending mark of 8:11.55 set on her 75th birthday on June 17 at the Adrien Martinez Classic in Concord MA.

In the same meet in Oregon, previous W75 mile record holder Suzi MacLeod ran a new Amercian Record for the same age division in the 800m with a 3:35.22.

The results of the USATF New England, held at Fitchburg State College on Saturday, are available at the Results are posted at www.usatfne.org/track. An even 500 entrants filled the facility.

Those individuals and relays finishing in the top 6 are eligible to advance to the Region I meet this weekend at Bowdoin College in Brunswick Maine.
Entry for Region I is ONLINE ONLY. Entry is open on Tues-Wed-Thurs, June 22-23-24 at the COACHO registration site. Payment is by credit card, or may be brought to the meet. Signed waivers must be on file.

A detailed overview of the online entry process can be found here.

Info on the meet in general, schedule, and Brunswick area hotels is at brunswickevents.org.

A new single race selection format will be used to select the men's and women's open USA Mountain Running Team this weekend at the USA Mountain Running Championships held at the 50th Mt. Washington Road Race on Saturday.

Among the top U.S. competitors is Rickey Gates of Colorado, a four-time mountain running team member, and one of only five men ever to break the one-hour barrier on Mt. Washington. Top local competition will come from NE Mountain Circuit leader and two-time Mt. Washington champion Eric Blake (BAA/New Britain CT).

The course runs 7.6 miles from the base of the Auto Road to the 6,288-foot summit with grades as steep as 12%. The 2010 U.S. Mountain Running Team will travel to Kamnik, Slovenia, to compete in the 26th World Mountain Running Championships on Sunday, September 5.

A number of 50th anniversary festivities will take place over the weekend; follow the history at www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com.

First time Mt.Washington Road Race participants Chris Siemers of not so hilly Chicago, and Ethiopian Shewarge Amare, now based in New York City, were first to the top of New Hampshire's highest peak on Saturday at the 50th running of the Mt. Washington Road Race. The event also served as the USA Mountain Running Championship, and, along with serving as the single qualifier for the U.S. national team that will compete in the World Mountain Running Championship this fall in Slovenia, had a field deeper in quality than usual.

Siemers took the lead that would give him his win after the 7 mile mark, his time of 1:00:22 gapping past winner and NE Mountain Circuit leader Eric Blake of the B.A.A. by 18 seconds in the final surge. Amare used a pair of borrowed shoes to break the 12 year old women's course record by well over a minute with a time of 1:08:21, earning a bonus of $5000. Another first timer, Kristen Price (Raleigh NC) was "the best of the rest" and US Champion in 1:11:13. In fourth, Nicole Hunt (Deer Lodge, Montana) set a new mastes standard of 1:12:59. Top New Englanders in the women's race was Amber Ferreira (7th, 1:19:47) and Jennifer Campbell (9th, 1:21:06).

916 completed the "run to the clouds", coming from 39 states, and a handful of foreign countries. Results, stories on the anniversary festivities, and pictures at www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com.

The USATF New England Junior Olympic meet will take place the Saturday, June 19 at Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg MA. 2 year age groups based on year of birth, from born 1992-1993 up through 2000 and later. Online entry remains open through Thursday evening; check the information sheet or go to CoachO.com. Those opting for day of meet on site should leave yourself plenty of extra time.

Top 6 teams and individuals qualify for Region I meet in Maine the following weekend. That is online only.

Greater Boston TC repeated their team wins at the USATF NE Track and Field Championship at Regis College on Sunday. The red team outdistanced other clubs by significant amounts for both men and women. The new facility was well received, and will be the meet's regular home for the foreseeable future. Results are posted at www.usatfne.org/track.

A new meet for open, masters, and youth competitors has been added to the schedule on Saturday, June 26 at MIT. The entry form is available at mitpv.com; pre entry is strongly suggested.

Brown University's Craig Kinsley busted the form charts at the NCAA Division I championships in Eugene Oregon, setting a personal best to win the javelin. Kinsley reached 250'3" on his fifth throw, bettering 2nd place by 9 feet, and earning the university's first outdoor NCAA gold medal since 1952.

Andrew Wheating (Norwich VT / U.Oregon), though, lived up to his status as a favorite to win both the 800 (1:45.69) and 1500 (3:47.94) leading a Duck 1-2-3 sweep in the latter. Two other locals had an all-American placing; former MA state champ Arantxa King (Medford MA/Stanford) won silver in the long jump (21'6.75"), and Tim Morse (Hingham MA / Radford U) was 8th in the hammer at 212-7.

Missed in our earlier collegiate action reporting, Nia Howard of Roxbury Community College won her second consecutive National Junior College Division 3 championship in the long jump. She also won the 100 and placed second in the 200. An academic all-American, she recently accepted a full scholarship to Northeastern University for next year.

An important late change for those entering the June 19 New England Junior Olympic meet at Fitchburg State College. There is now an online entry process for the meet, using CoachO.com. The National Committee is "requiring" this, but we are trying to make this work for our local competitors.

Those who have already entered need not resubmit, but new entries should use this new procedure. Please go to usatfne.org/track for a link to a detailed procedure. This new process was only instituted 3 weeks ago, and may cause some confusion, but our materials should guide one through it step by step.

Entry does not require payment in advance this year - payment should be mailed, or brought to the meet. The waiver - signed by the parent if under 18- must also be brought to the meet.

A key item, that a single contact person is supposed to enter any and all entrants for athletes with a club affiliation; club contacts will receive a separate email message on this.

Any waiver requests for the Region I meet must be in the NE office by the close of the day Friday, June 18, and those must be on the paper form. Thanks for your patience with this new process.

Matt Ely (BAA) and Joseph Koech (RUN) won open and masters 5K titles on Sunday in Rhode Island
Photo: Steve Vaitones

Matt Ely (BAA) earned the USATF-NE 5K championship at the Rhody 5K at Twin River in Lincoln RI on Sunday. The event served only as the men's championship this year, with 418 crossing the mats, as the women will go head to head in Providence in October, the first time in almost 20 years where championships have been split.

Overall winner was past NE champ Pat Tarpy who recently moved to Yarmouth Maine. Leading from the gun, the Brown grad clocked 14:55 on the flat course. Conditions were warm and a bit humid as the race dodged the severe storms later that day. Ely and BAA mate Pat Moulton ran 15:14 and 15:22, respectively, and with a third BAA runner in the top 10, and that would generally lead to team honors. However, Team RUN, led by Justin Freeman, finished 4-5-6-7 and their depth won out by 47 seconds.

In 7th, Joseph Koech was first 40+, while Norm Larson (GMAA, 50+) and Gordon MacFarland (CSU, M60+) recorded their third wins of the year to increase their division leads, and Bill Riley (BAA, 70+) ran an amazing 20:47. Whirlaway RT (40+, 50+) and CSU (60+) brought home the big team checks.

The women's race was not as deep as a championship event but still showed quality with Stephanie Reilly (NBBoston) winning in 16:59 and 1/2 marathon champ Jennifer Campbell (BAA) second in 17:52; Central Mass Striders won the open team award.

The event was prepared for all weather conditions, and the traditional lavish refreshment spread was enjoyed by all. Results are posted, and team scores will be up at www.usatfne.org/gp/ on Tuesday

The series next stop is the Stowe 8 Miler in Stowe VT on July 18.

Pack Monadnock is the longest race in the USATF-GP Mountain Circuit at 10 miles, and is uphill-only, but those differences did not change the names at the top of the results as Eric Blake (BAA / New Britain CT) and Gina Lucrezi (INOV-8 / Medway MA) made it three in a row for the series on Sunday. The race, hosted by Gate City Striders, found 361 finsihers up to age 75, as it was also part of the NH Grand Prix series. The point-to-point race from Wilton-Lyndeborough High School to the top of Pack Monadnock, included sections of the final mile that are steeper than the Mt.Washington race

Lucrezi broke the four year old course record with her 1:13:25 for 21st place overall, and Abby Mahoney (Holyoke) completed the daily double with her third second place of the season. CSU teammates Suzy West (1-40+, 7th overall) and Lisa Doucett (50), along with the GCS duo of Aline Kenney (60) and Barbara Robinson (70) took the age division titles.

Blake was the only finisher under an hour (59:55), outlegging Kevin Tilton for the second week by 1:12. Keiron Tumbleton (HopkintonRC) matched his mark from Northfield as fourth overall / first master, with Matt Curran (Gloucester MA) (50+), Jim Imprescia (NMC, 60+) and Frank Hurt (WMM, 70+, 3 straight) taking the remaining divisions.

Full race results are at coolrunning.com.

The current standings are posted. After a two week break, circuit resumes at Mt.Cranmore in New Hampshire on Sunday, June 27, hosted by the White Mountain Milers - though many will be running "the big one" - Mount Washington - on June 19.

Springfield College senior Steve Headley was named NCAA Division III Runner of the Year by the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The product of Wilbraham, Mass., won his second consecutive national crown at 100 meters last weekend in 10.33, as well as adding a second-place national showing in the 200 meters and running second leg of Springfield's 4×100-meter relay that finished as the national runner-up. All told, Headley accounted for 20 of Springfield's 26 points at the national championships, helping the Pride to a fifth-place national team finish.

Earlier in the year, Hedaley won NEWMAC titles in the 100 meters and 200 meters, setting conference records in both. He also recorded top finishes in the Division III New England Championships in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4×100 meters, and won Eastern College Athletic Conference titles in the 100 meters and 200 meters, both in record times.

June 2 is National Running Day, initiated by the New York Road Runners Club to encourge new participants to give running a try, and to get established runners to try some varied events.

If you're keen on giving a track race a try, come over to the M.I.T. track in Cambridge tonight at 6:30p.m. for the USATF-NE Mini-Meet. A short schedule events draws all ages and abilities for the 100, 200, 400, 800, and mile.

And, tonight there is no entry fee - courtesy of the B.A.A.; just sign a waiver and head to the starting line. Bring a friend, get a youth involved, give track a try.

Eric Blake (BAA) and Gina Lucrezi (INOV-8) took their second straight USATF-NE Mountain Circuit titles in as many weeks with wins at the Mt.Wachusett race on Saturday. 324 runners covered the loop out of the ski area in the Central Mass Striders hosted event. With the summit road still undergoing repairs from the December 2008 ice storm, the up-and-down 5.25 mile route started on the aptly named Mile Hill Road, and afer a run to the park entrance, covered the remaining distance off-road on trails and gravel roads.

Blake outlegged Kevin Tilton by 38 seconds. Todd Callaghan (GCST) was first master, seventh overall, with Martin Tighe (TNT, 50+), Vin Rivard (NMC, 60+) and Frank Hurt (WMM, 70+) taking the remaining ages. Lucrezi's margin over Abby Mahoney (CMS) was only half as large as the previous week, with Abbey Gosling (CMS) third. Donna Smyth (CSU) repeated as 50+ leader. Other age group winners were Margaret Kennedy (40+, HopkintonRC) and Linda Usher (CMS, 60+).

Results are at coolrunning.com. The circuit moves north to the Pack Monadnock (NH) 10 miler in Wilton NH on Sunday June 6, as many runners prep for the upcoming 50th anniversary edition of the Mt.Washington Road Race on June 19. See info at usatfne.org/trail. Remember, scorers and circuit-long "mountain goats" who hope to gain a waiver into the 2011 Mt.Washington Road Race must have 2010 USATF membership by next Sunday's race.

U.Mass.Lowell senior Jacqui Barrett (Woburn MA) brought home gold from the NCAA Division II national championships, taking first in the shot put in 50'8.25". Recording a school record, Barrett is the third national champion in UML history. Held at Johnson C. Smith College in North Carolina, electrical storms in the areas caused schedule delays and postponements through the 3 days, putting athletes' preparation for their events to the challenge.

Two other River Hawk seniors also earned all-American honors; Ruben Sanca (Boston) placed fifth in the two distance events, (5000 and 10,000) and Doug Caves (Oxford MA) earned his eighth career All-American award for 6th in the 400. Other New Englanders bringing home A-A honors a pair of bronze medalist; American International College freshman Glarius Rop (Eldoret KEN) in the 10,000 and Stonehill freshman Corey Thomas (Brookline MA) in the high jump at 7'1". In the latter event, the AIC duo of Noel James (Whitman MA) and Dylan Moore (Somersworth NH) placed 5th (6'11.75") and 6th, (6'10.75), respectively. On the women's side, Bidemi Balogun (AIC, Providence) spun the hammer 177'5" for fifth.

Jacqui Wentz was steeplechase champion and all-American in three events.
Photo: Justin Kuo

Six New England collegians wound up their school seasons won wins at the NCAA Division III Championships held at Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio over three days.

A pair of women's winners included Jacqui Wentz of MIT in the steeplechase, 10:16.16 - the fastest DIII time of the year and a school record. She was also 5th at 1500 and ran on the 2nd place 4x400 relay. Tanasia Hoffler of Williams bounced to the gold in the triple jump at 40'10 1/2".

Wentz' Tech teammate Stephen Morton wound up his career with a long jump victory (23'9") and third in the triple jump, 49'3". Springfield's Stephen Headley turned in a DIII season best of 10.33 to win the 100 and then scored silver in both the 200 at 21.15 and as part of Springfield's 4x100 relay. The latter event was won by Wheaton College in a blazing 40.77; the Lyons also closed the meet with a strong 4x400 win, clocking 3:11.73. Connor Kamm (Williams) led the 5000 meter field (14:28.06)

Most successes were found in the 1500, where five New Englander men and fourn women ran to all-American honors. In the women's team totals, MIT placed third, their highest ever, with 37 points, while rival Williams was sixth at 33; 77 colleges scored. MIT men was also top NE team at fourth place and 27 points, with Wheaton and Springfield tied for fifth at 26, and Amherst tied for tenth among the 85 colleges earning points.

Full results of the meet are are at raceberryjam.com.

Justin Fyffe and Caitlyn Clark took the USATF-NE 12K titles at the 36th Bedford Rotary 12K, the third stop in the 2010 USATF-NE Road Race Grand Prix; 536 crossed the finish line on the Bedford HS track.

2009 Grand Prix champ Fyffe (CMS/E.Dummerston VT) set a course record of 37:18, nearly a minute up on the BAA duo of Matt Ely and Mark Miller (who moves into the 2010 series lead). Last year's overall winner Joseph Koech was top masters finisher, one place on series leader Wayne Levy (BAA); that was the trend as Craig Fram (Whirlaway, M50+, 2nd over 40!) and Gordon MacFarland (CSU, M60+) also were repeat gold medalists.

Clark (Sisu Project) won her first NE title in 45:40, placing second overall to Amanda Dipoolo of Connecticut's ConnQuest club; Whirlaway's Tammie Robie was just 9 seconds back. Barbara McManus, 6th overall, got her second masters win of the season (after the 10 mile), as did both Cathy Merra (GCS Triad, W50+, 1/2 marathon winner) and Diane McLaughlin (CSU, 60+, 10 mile).

Solid depth gave Central Mass Striders the open team win over BAA; Whirlaway doubled up with both 40+ and 50+ trophies, and Cambridge Sports Union repeating in the 60+ group. Greater Boston TC topped CMS by 19 seconds in the women's standings, with GCS Triad and Whirlaway winners for 40+ and 50+ women.

Team scores will be posted at www.usatfne.org/gp/ on Tuesday with race results at coolrunning.com. Next on the GP schedule is the Rhody 5K in Lincoln RI on Sunday, June 5. Note that Rhody is only the Men's Championship; the women's 5K is in Providence in October.

Eric Blake (BAA) and Gina Lucrezi (INOV-8) showed their heels to a record field at the USATF New England Trail Running Championship at Northfield (MA) Mountain on Saturday. The opener of the USATF-NE Mountain Running Circuit for the first time, 264 made the trip up-and-down the mountain over a new 5.3 mile circuit, as construction on the course required adjustments to the traditional loop; in fact, the park trails were closed to all but the racers, and the lack of distance did not reduce the difficultly level. The larger numbers were in part due to the appearance of the race on the Hockomock Swamp Rat series calendar.

Trailing Blake by 32 seconds was Paul Morris with Jim Johnson (CMS) third; masters winner Keiron Tumbleton (Hopkinton RC) fourth. Others earning age group golds were Paul Bazanchuk (White Mountain Milers, 50+), Jim Imprescia (No.Medford Club, 60+), and Frank Hurt (WMM, 70+). Lucrezi had over a minute on Abby Woods (CMS) and surprising 17 year old Carolyn Stocker (Gr.Springfield Harriers) who took silver and bronze, respectively. Suzy West (CSU) matched the men's marker for top master placing fourth overall, and teammate Donna Smyth was first 50+.

Results are at coolrunning.com. The circuit continues on the next two weekends with Mt.Wachusett on Saturday, May 29, and the all-road Pack Monadnock Run on June 6. See info at usatfne.org/trail. Circuit scoring will be posted after 2 events. Scorers and circuit-long "mountain goats" who hope to gain a waiver into the 2011 Mt.Washington Road Race must have 2010 USATF membership before the Pack Monadnock race.

The USATF-NE Road Race Grand Prix lands at the series' third stop for the year on Saturday at the Bedford Rotary 12K in Bedford NH. 9:00 a.m. start at the Bedford NH HS. See the race website.

The Mountain Circuit kicks off on Saturday at Northfield Mountain in Northfield MA. The traditional course has been shortened to 5 miles due to construction work; this will also limit aid, so runners concerned about water stops should also carry their own H2O. See the the Mountain/Ultra/Trail page for entry forms and information.

Selected events in the USATF-NE TF Championship June 13 at Regis College will have performance based prize money. Top eligible runners in the men's 400, 800, 1500, shot put, and javelin, as well as the women's 400,800, 1500, pole vault, and discus who meet the event's quality standard may receive cash awards. The details are at the track page.

The USATF-NE Junior Olympic TF entry form and information sheet is up and available. It can be downloaded at the track page.
The meet will again run at Fitchburg (MA) State College, this year on Saturday, June 19.

The USATF New England Open and Masters Outdoor Track and Field Champonships will be held as a combined event this year (replacing separate meets). The meet will run on Sunday, June 13 at the new track and field facility at Regis College in Weston MA.

A full schedule of open events will run (bring the long throws back to the meet). Masters will contest separate heats and field event flights. However, there several masters events will not be contested separately for masters; those include hurdles, steeplechase, pole vault, and hammer. The entry form can be found at the track page.

On the eve of the 50th running of the Mt. Washington Road Race, four of the greatest runners in the race's history will become the first members of the new Mt. Washington Road Race Hall of Fame. Bob Hodge of Massachusetts, Anna Pichrtova of the Czech Republic, legendary English coal-miner-turned runner Fred Norris, and the late Gary Crossan of New Hampshire have been chosen by a committee made up of the race's organizers. Details on the honorees, as well as race info - the June 19 race will serve as the 2010 USA Mountain Running Championship - can be found at mountwashingtonroadrace.com.

The South Boston Athletic Club/Youth Enrichment Services is looking for youth track coaches to provide instruction and creativity for a youth track and field development program for ages 5-13 years. Practices and Developmental Meets take place on Monday and Thursday evenings, 6-7:30 p.m. at the Saunders Stadium in Moakley Park, South Boston beginning May 17 and ending August 26. Volunteer and some stipend opportunities are available. If interested, contact Bryan Van Dorpe at bryanjvd@aol.com or 617-851-0933.

After Monday's Boston Marathon, there are now nine New England states women among the 56 total women who have qualified for the 2012 US Olympic Trials in the marathon. The A standard of 2:39:00 provides full expenses while the B standard of 2:46:00 gives a runner entry into the race.

Since the qualifying period began, The fastest local qualifier is Sheri Piers (Dirigo RC/Falmouth ME); not only has she made the A standard, she has hit the B standard twice.
Ranking on the list, time, name, and club

13. 2:37:24 Sheri Piers (ME/Dirigo RC)
19. 2:39:14 Heidi Westover (NH)
20. 2:39:47 Esther Erb (MA/BAA)
27. 2:40:36 Shannon McHale (CT)
28. 2:40:38 Kristin Barry (ME/Dirigo RC)
34. 2:41:57 Kim Duclos (MA/CMS)
37. 2:43:18 Susannah Beck (ME)
39. 2:43:58 Heather Cappello (MA/BAA)
52. 2:45:36 Brett Ely (MA/BAA)

No New England men are among the 48 who have made the men's standard of 2:19:00 yet.

From the pre-event activities to the final results, the 114th running of the B.A.A. Boston Marathon produced a long list of superlatives. The year's 25th anniversary of John Hancock sponsorship can't be matched by many major events around the world, and BAA Executive Director Guy Morse was recognized for his 25 year involvement at the helm of the nation's oldest marathon.

Sunday's action was at shorter distances, and went off well despite the less than ideal weather and slick roads. Eilte marathoner Josh Cox (Mammouth Lake CA) and local Jennifer Campbell (Watertown MA) were the winners in the BAA 5K, Campbell's time a course record 16:52. The middle school kilometers were won by Sonya Jampel (Newton/Waltham TC) and Caleb Winn (Natick), the scholastic miles went to Melanie Fineman (record 5:10.5) (Newton) and Ben Groleau (Framingham), and the professional miles to Andy Baddeley (4:08.6, record) and Morgan Uceny (4:43.0).

Monday's action held the attention of the running world. Teyba Erkesso held on for the women's race win by 3 seconds - the total winning margins in the women's races in the past three years is six seconds. Robert Kiprono Cheriyuot (no-relation-the-younger) set a new course record by over a minute with a time of 2:05:51 in the fastest non-paced time run in the US. USA favorites Ryan Hall and Meb Keflezighi placed fourth and fifth, Hall's 2:08:39 the fastest American time ever over the course, bettering Bob Kempainen's time from 1994. Ernst Van Dyk won his ninth wheelchair title, and Aakako Tsuchida kept her string going at 4 wins.

Top New Englanders were Lucas Meyer (BAA) 24th, and Heidi Westover (Walpole NH), 18th. Age divisions in 2010 were broken down to 5 year groups in masters ages; local division winners were Simonetta Piergentilli (Whirlaway) W45, Glenn Guillemette (TNT), M50, and Reno Stirrat (Whirlaway), M55.

Top placers by New England state:
CT: Lucas Meyer (BAA) 2:21:29; Tina Senft (Stratford) 3:01:44
MA: Nathan Krah (AdiNE) 2:25:04; Michelle Sarney (BAA) 2:52:26
ME: Patrick Fournier (Rome) 2:36:44; Sheri Piers (Dirigo) 2:40:46
NH: Scott Rowe (Dover) 2:24:34; Heidi Westover (Walpole) 2:39:14
RI: Glenn Guillemette (TNT) 2:37:30 (1, M50+); Claire Gadrow (ReebProv) 2:56:52
VT: Norm Larson (GMAA) 2:43:22 (3, M50-54); Tammy Richards (GMAA) 2:56:40

Three of four team titles went to local clubs, the host B.A.A. winning the women's cup, and Whirlaway Racing Team men and women both bringing home the masters trophies.

Wow - a lot of action for one weekend!

A full weekend of activity is on tap leading up to the 114th running of the B.A.A. Boston Marathon on Monday. To start, the marathon expo runs at the Hynes Convention Center Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with no admission; USATF NE will have a booth there, shared with the Bay State Games.

Saturday morning, the 14th youth relays will take place on Boylston Street near the finish line with hundreds of youth age 14 and under bringing a spring training session to a close. Sunday, the sold out BAA 5K (8 a.m.) precedes the Elite Miles (10 a.m.); a middle school 1000 meter has been added to the program that includes a "Marathon Town" Scholastic Mile, and the elite professional mile.

And on Monday, of course, the main event (10 a.m. general start for the first of two waves, but earlier for elite women and earlier still for wheelchairs). USA runners and training partners Meb Keflezighi and Ryan Hall are on a quest to become the first American male Boston champion since 1983. They will face a top international field that includes defending champion Deriba Merga of Ethiopia.

Enjoy the weekend - and plan your driving along the course accordingly!

The 2010 USATF Rule Book is now available on-line in .PDF form at the USATF Website. Current clubs should be receiving their copy if they haven't yet. Info on purchasing a copy is also at the website.

With sadness, we report another member of the New England running community passed away on April 10. Greater Lowell Road Runner Phil Riley (Lowell MA), 58, died on Sunday after suffering a heart attack and head injuries on April 2.

Riley, a loyal member of the GLRR masters and then 50+ racing team and a member of their club hall of fame, was a regular scorer in the NE Road Race Grand Prix and Cross Country Championships, and his teams were several time medalists at the USA Masters XC events. He was a teacher, and cross country and assistant track coach at Stoneham (MA) High School. More information can be found on the "Friends of Phil Riley" Facebook page and at www.glrr.net.

The USA Masters National Indoor Track & Field Championships concluded a long and successful three days at the Reggie Lewis Center with many new standards established. With almost 850 individual entries, the meet was the largest of the 12 held in Boston since 1997, and competitors ranged from the 30 year old minimum to 95 years old. US and World Records were recorded from the opening pentathlon (90 year old Ralph Maxwell of Alamo TX) down to the final 4 x 400 relays with three world age division bests including the W70+ set by our own Liberty Athletic Club.

75 year old Flo Meiler (Shelburne VT) was the most productive New England individual with wins in the pole vault, pentathlon, 60, long jump, and triple jump, Dennis Branham, 79 (Providence/Ronald McDonald House) was a triple winner at 800/1500/3000 and Reggie Lewis Center facility supervisor Everad Samuels taking a break on Sunday to win the M50 200 meters in 23.58.

New England clubs had an excellent hometown showing, as Mass Velocity won its first masters team title (combined men and women) with 363 points after earning lower podium spots in the past. TNT International of Pennsylvania, and Southern California TC went 2-3, and the local Twilight Throwers placed 6th among 86 clubs scoring points.

Daily summaries of records and top performances can be found at the USATF website, as can full results. The meet heads to Albuquerque in 2011 and to Bloomington IN in 2012, afterwhich New England may bid to host it again.

Marblehead MA native Shalane Flanagan (Portland OR) led the USA women to a bronze medal at Sunday's 38th IAAF World Cross Country Championships, the first women's team medal since 2003. Flanagan finished 12th overall, and was backed by a strong 19th place finish by Molly Huddle (Providence RI/Saucony).

"Walking away with a medal was the goal coming over here. The race was hard. There were times where I felt I wasn't moving, and felt like I was standing still. My coach thought that I could get top 20, so I think that it was a successful day", Huddle noted afterwards. Winter weather in Poland, which included heavy snows, a thaw, and recent rains, had reduced the course to a mudbowl and making it a survival of the strongest.

In the Junior Women's race, local runners Shelby Greany (Providence College - 29th) and Emily Jones (Harvard MA / Georgetown U / 41st) contributed points to the sixth-place finish by the US. The USA Senior Men were ninth, and Junior Men placed eighth, as Kenya swept all four team titles, and Ethiopia scored three seconds and a third. Results, pictures, and stories at www.usatf.org/events/2010/.

George King, long time track official and coach at Canton High School, and member of the Mass.State Track Coaches Association Athlete Hall of Fame passed away on Thursday at age 76. As an athlete, he was a state champ at Boston English HS, top 3 placer at New England HS XC, all American at New York University, and member of a US record in the 4 x 1500 relay. A gentleman who clearly understated his honors in the sport over the years, USATF-NE started the George and Whitey King 4 x 1600 Relay in his (and his brother's) honor 3 years ago; the race will be run in August in South Boston.

NE half marathon champ Curtis Wheeler (SV photo)

NE half marathon champ Curtis Wheeler
Photo: Steve Vaitones

Curtis Wheeler (adidas New England) and Jennifer Campbell (Newmarket NH) won their first New England titles at Sunday's New Bedford 1/2 Marathon, the 33rd edition of the race. The best weather in recent memory for the race, and the scheduling as a traditional Boston Marathon Tune-Up combined to give the race their largest entry list and largest results list (2300 finishers) ever.

Overall winner Derese Denibob (Bronx NY) was unchallenged after 2 miles, but the race among New Englanders was spirited. Wheeler (Buxton ME) had moved to 2nd before 5 miles and stayed ahead of Lucas Meyer (BAA) to win his first NE title by 21 seconds in 1:06:28, with Wheeler's twin brother Nicholas fourth at 1:07:35.

The performance of the day for masters was turned in by Vermont's 54 year old Norm Larson (GMAA), who clocked 1:13:42 for third among ALL runners 40+ and 53rd overall. Masters winner Wayne Levy (BAA) and M60+ frontrunner Gordon MacFarland moved up to the top step after 2nd places at the 10 Mile last month. Tri-Valley's John Parker was M70 champion (2nd in the division).

In the women's results, New Zealand Olympian Kim Smith, who bases her training in Providence with coach Ray Treacy, cruised the half at "marathon pace" in preparation for April's London Marathon and crossed the line in 20th place overall at 1:10:55; we hope that's a preview of her performance next month! Campbell took New England honors in 1:17:24, just ahead of early leader Jeanette Seckinger (BAA) at 1:17:45. Whirlaway's Simonetta Piergentilli was top 10 overall with her 40+ age group win in 1:22;28), Cathy Merra (GCSTriad) ran to an easy win for her second victory of 2010 in the 50+ division, and Susan Manning (CMS) had almost a 5 minute gap winning in W60+.

The Boston Athletic Association (75 runner strong in the entries) packed 6 men in the top 9 men for the team win, and the blue's women went 3-5-6 to match the men's win. Whirlaway Racing Team swept both the 40+ and 50+ divisions men and women. Closest match of the day was the M60 teams, where Cambridge Sports Union's top 3 edged Green Mountain AA by a mere 21 seconds over the 4:34:00+ of total times.

A hearty thanks to the city of New Bedford, the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick, and race director Dan McCarthy for their continuing work with the classic race - and offering a traffic free course, no easy feat in today's running world. GP results and links to race results at www.usatfne.org/gp.

Waltham TC's Carla Forbes, a freshman at Newton North HS, was the sole New England winner at the Nike Indoor Nationals scholastic meet held at the Reggie Lewis Center this past weekend. The freshman leapt 40'2" in her final attempt in the triple jump for the win. Over 3000 top competitors with credentials up to being World Youth Championships team members made their way through the facility over the three days. A pair of Rhode Islanders went 2-3 in the girls weight throw; Angela Onye of Providence Classical spun 56'0.5" and Aleide Fernendes of Central Falls threw 55'1". Top boys placer were a pair of bronze medals; Sam Bombaugh of Famlmouth MA placed third in the shot put with 58'11.5", and Jackson MacDonald of Wenham MA scored 3586 for third in the pentathlon. Andover MA placed in both the 4x200 relay (4th) and 4x400 relay (6th).

Athletes from the New England association earning All American honors with a top 6 finish included the following: (Please forward any corrections, as clubs are not obvious to their related schools).

Girls:
Weight Throw: 2.Angela Onye, Providence Classical 56'0.5"; 3.Aleide Fernendes, Central Falls RI, 55'1"
5000: 5.Carolyn Stocker, Westfield/GSH /17:32.28;
4 x mile: 4.Rocks XC (Bp.Feehan MA) 20:48.43;
Sprint Medley: 4.Newton Center Athletics (South), 4:05.47;
4x200: 5.Hope / Providence RI, 1:44.49;
4x400: 6.Wachusett MA 3:56.81;
Shuttle Hurdles: 6.Birdlegs East (Milton MA) 35.86;
High Jump: 4.Moira Cronin, Andover MA 5'9.25";

Boys
800: 6.Byron Jones, Westborough MA, 1:53.85
Mile: 6.John Bleday, Westwood MA/Emerging Elites, 4:15.54
4 x 200: 4.Andover MA 1:30.69
4 x 400: 6.Andover MA 3:21.91
4 x 1 Mile: 4.Bishop Hendricken RI, 17:53.56
High Jump: 4.Corey Fairfield, Millis MA 6'6.25";
Shot Put: 3.Sam Bombaugh, Falmouth MA, 58'11.5"; 5.Kevin Rosenberg, Nashua NH, 58'4.75"; 6.Ryan Davila, Lowell MA, 58'3";
Weight Throw: 4.Dominic Filiano, Lebanon NH, 68'10.5"; 5.Max Milder, Bp.Hendricken RI, 67'1.25"; 6.Wilson Adams, Barrington RI, 65'11.75";
Pentathlon: 3.Jackson MacDonald, Wenham MA 3586; 6.Ricky Arisme, Somerville MA, 3351.

Many local officials local officials made this top scholastic meet run like clockwork, and a number of local schools volunteered to help the meet run smoothly. The meet will return to Boston in 2011 and 2012. Full results can be found at nationalscholastic.org.

The National Scholastic Sports Foundation honored a pair of long time Massachusetts coaches at the Nike Indoor Nationals in Boston last weekend. Bishop Feehan (Attleboro MA) coach Bob L'Homme was presented with the Mike Byrnes Coach of the Year award. Since beginning his coaching tenure at Feehan in 1984, his boys outdoor track and field teams have won 18 league and 7 state divisional championships. Coaching both boys and girls in cross country since 1992, he's racked up 4 divisional and 4 state championships with the boys and 7 divisional and two state titles with the girls. He has a three season career overall record of 513-85-7!

John Carroll, girls' program founder and coach at Falmouth (MA) HS and a leader in bringing girls' track and field to the state high school level, received the Allen Dawson Achievement Award. In a 28 year HS coaching career, his athletes took home 40 individual state champion gold medals, and he was earned coach of the year honors 9 times. He's active on the Mass State Track Coaches Association executive board, directs the MSTCA Relays, and announces many meets at the Reggie Lewis Center.

Both individuals also served in volunteer capacities during the meet. See nationalscholastic.org for more stories.

Division I, often referred to as the most competitive indoor meet in the world, was held in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Andrew Wheating (Norwich VT) anchored the victorious U.Oregon Distance Medley and placed 2nd in the 800 (1:48.40) as his school placed second in the team scoring. Victoria Flowers (Providence RI), sophomore at U.Connecticut, placed second in the weight throw at 70' 4 1/4".

In Division II action in Albuquerque, freshmen Noel James (American International College) and Corey Thomas (Stonehill) went 2-3 in the high jump, both clearing 6'11 1/2". Jacqui Barrett (UMass Lowell) took second in the shot put at 49'4 1/2". UMass Lowell scored points / placed top 8 for all-American honors in 4 other events, and AIC in 2 more events.

At the Division III championship at Depauw University in Indiana, Springfield College senior Nikki Hay won the triple jump in 39'3 3/4" and also returned with a bronze medal in the long jump (18'7"). Taking second places were Elise Johnson (Williams, hurdles, 8.09), Allison Chamberlain (Keene State, 800, 2:09.38), Kerry Arouca (Westfield State, 5000, 17:02.22), and Nakeisha Jones (Tufts, Triple Jump, 38-6 3/4), with third places scored by Randelle Boots (Wellesley, mile, 4:58.04), Hazel Briner (M.I.T., Pentathlon, 3391), and Brandeis (Distance Medley, 11:52.94).

Three men had silver medal showings; Will Yochum of Amherst in the mile, 4:11.31, Stephen Headley of Springfield in the 55, 6.28, and Stephen Morton of MIT in the triple jump, 49'3". Earning third places were Jesse Faller (Tufts, 5000, 14:50.39) and Cailean Robinson (Wheaton, 55, 6.39).

Full results of all three divisions can be found at ncaa.org.

Mayor's Cup XC winner Sean Quigley (Braintree MA) moved up in distance and took fifth plae at the USA 15K Championships held at the 33rd Gate River Run in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday. He clocked 44:06, good for $1000. US Champion and race winner was Mohamed Trafeh of California in 42:58.

In the women's race, Rebecca Donaghue (New Balance Boston) matched Quigley's position in a time of 51:13. Past winner in Boston's Tufts 10K for Women, Katie McGregor of Minnesota, was first across the line in 49:51, with three past Olympians coming in just before Donaghue.

Go long! At the Caumsett State Park 50K in Huntington N.Y. Yolanda Flamino (Team RUN / Hancock NH) won the USA 50 km Championships on Sunday. She covered the 31+ miles to claim the women's title in 3:34:26; third 45-49, and fifth master was Amy Dalton (Georgetown MA), 5:25:16.

Central Mass Striders won the men's team title; leading the local men was Dan Verrington (Bradford MA), fourth overall and second master in 3:15:14, one place ahead of teammate Ben Nephew (Mansfield MA) in 3:18:24, with Jesse Regnier (Hampden MA) in 8th (3:28:34) completing the scoring. Overall winner Michael Wardian (Arlington VA) won his third straight crown, running 2:55:50. The USA 50 km Championship will be held at the same site for the next two years.

On the snow on Saturday, Amber Cullen Ferreira (GCS Triad / Concord NH) was overall women's champion at the US Snowshoe Championships in Fabius NY. CMS runners Kevin Tilton (N.Conway NH, 7th) and Jim Johnson (Salem NH, 14th) contested the men's race, and were part of the CMS winning relay the following day.

The Massachusetts Track and Field Officials Association is hosting two clinics suitable for both new and experienced officials ; the clinics will be on Tuesday, March 16 at Wheaton College in Norton MA, and on Wednesday, March 24, at Tufts University in Medford MA. The same presentations will be at both sites, run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and are at the respective facilities' indoor track.

There will be sessions covering both track and field events presented by top level officials in the organization. The presentations are appropriate to those wishing to take the exam to become a member of Mass. TFOA, or a USATF official, and for those who will simply be working with high school and youth meets in the future. There is no fee; registration is at the door. You can see details at the Mass.Track and Field Officials Association website.

Roger Pierce (Mass Velocity TC / Essex MA) brought home four medals from the World Masters Association world indoor track and field championships in held in Kamloops, British Columbia, last week. Competing in the 65-69 age division, Pierce won gold medals in the 400 meters and as part of the 4 x 200 relay, and also earned silver medals in the 60 and 200.

Mary Harada (Liberty AC / Newburyport MA) won Gold in the F70 3000 meters and was 4th in the 1500, and Gary Snyder (Mass Velocity / Boston) ran a leg for the US M65 4x200 relay that scored a bronze medal.

You can find full meet details at the usatf.org home page.

Lucas Meyer (B.A.A.) and Ruben Sanca (Lowell MA) represented New England and the USA in a pair of races in Ireland last week. A long standing agreement with Charlie Breagy of Rhode Island, who's home club oversees is in charge of one of the races, top finishers at the USATF-NE Cross Country Championships in November annually get to race in this overseas classic; Meyer and Sanca were 1-2 in the 2009 NE harrier title race.

On February 25 at the multiple lap Armagh 5K run through the old town, Meyer ran 14:08 (6th) and Sanca ran 14:11 (9th) behind the winning 13:58. Teaming with USA runner Ben Bruce (3rd, 14:00) Team USA was second behind England among nations. Former Providence College runner David McCarthy of Ireland was second overall in a photo finish.

On February 28, at the feature Ras na hEireann International 6K cross country race in Drogeheda, the two reversed positions as Sanca placed 6th (18:10) and Meyer 8th (18:18); adding Bruce's overall win (17:38), the USA tied Poland for first with 15 points among 6 squads.

Find results at rasnaheireann.com.

Registration begins opens today for the entry lottery for the 2010 Mt. Washington Road Race. Runners can register for the lottery between March 1 and March 15; entrant drawing is done after March 15 so there is no advantage gained by being one of the first to enter. The race takes place on June 19.

The 50th "Race to the Clouds" will serve as the USA Mountain Running Championship and selection event for the USA team to compete in the World Mountain Running Championships.

All the specifics are at mountwashingtonroadrace.com.

Houston, host of the 1992 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the women's marathon, will host the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for both the Men's and Women's Marathon, USA Track & Field and the United States Olympic Committee announced Monday. Boston and New York had each bid to host one Olympic Trials race.

The Trials races will be held in Houston January 14, 2012, a day prior to the 40th anniversary of the Houston Marathon. The timing of the race offered by Houston also appealing to the site selection committee. With the London Olympic Games being held in early August, rather than the later dates of recent Games, having the Trials far enough out to allow for proper recovery and preparation for London, yet close enough to be relevant to the Games, was a high priority.

Brendan Callahan (BAA) and Heidi Westover (Acworth NH) took the year's first New England road race championship titles with wins at the 36th Jones Group Realtors 10 Mile hosted by the Sugarloaf Mt. AC in Amherst MA on Sunday. Surprisingly conducive weather - 40's, light wind, some sun - and good road conditions (having avoided Friday's major snowstorm) led to good times, though not fast enough to award the course record bonuses.

Callahan held off 2009 GP Champion Justin Fyffe (CMS) by 5 seconds, and Westover (57:58) had over a minute on Jeannette Seckinger (BAA). Greg Pickelsimer (Somerville RR) scored his first ever NE masters title and Barbara McManus (CMS) led the masters women. CMS men and Whirlaway women topped masters team scoring, Whirlaway won both 50+ divisions, and CSU took the M60 title. The field including race founder Tom Derderian (GBTC).

First list of GP standings and a link to full results will be posted at the GP Page on Tuesday.

A handful of New Englanders qualified for and took to the track at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque NM this past weekend where the team for the upcoming World Indoor Championships "selected themselves".

Most successful was Joanne Dow (Manchester NH), defending champion who score a silver medal in the 3000 meter race walk in 14:01.53. U.Conn redshirt out of Lowell MA, Brian Gagnon, was a strong 4th in the 800 meter final, 1:49.66, with Peter Najem (Derry NH) 19th in the trials. Nate Jenkins (Lowell MA) was 14th in the 3000 meters, 8:41.24, and Allison McCabe (Gr.Boston TC/Cambridge MA), in her first qualification for nationals, recorded the same place in 1500 meters at 4:46.39; distance runners' times reflect the effect of the significant altitude.

Chris Simpson (Eliot TC/Somerville MA) won the masters exhibition 1000 meters. Full results are posted at usatf.org.

The University of Connecticut pulled out double wins at the men's New England collegiate championships at Boston University on Friday and Saturday. Both squads more than double the total of their nearest rivals. The men scored 140 to runner-up Rhode Island's 69, and the women scored a massive 202 to Northeastern's 90.
In the Massachusetts State High School Championships, the trophies went to Mansfield boys and Newton North girls

Greater Boston's Allison McCabe qualifying for USATF Nationals in the NE USATF meet. Photo by GBTC Snapper.

Greater Boston's Allison McCabe qualifying for USATF Nationals in the NE USATF meet.
Photo: GBTC Snapper

The Greater Boston TC once again won both the men's and women's team titles at the USATF-NE Indoor Track and Field Championship held at Harvard's Gordon Track on Sunday.

GBTC's 44 points was well up on New Balance Boston (14) and Y-Speed (12) on the women's side, and their 60 points easily outdistanced the Providence Cobras (18) and BAA (13) on the men's side. Three women achieved national indoor championship qualifying performances, led by Greater Boston's Allison McCabe, who won the 1500 meters in 4:29.44. This is the first time she has qualified for US Nationals, which takes place this weekend in Albuquerque. Other national marks were turned in by Brown U. shot putter Danielle Grunloh at 49'5" and New York's Delilah DiCrescenzo (Riadha) in the 3000 at 9:09.46.

The meet drew over 600 entries covering junior, open, and masters athletes, and included athletes from Jamaica and Bermuda. Full Results.

Providence College freshman Shelby Greany along with Emily Jones of Harvard, Mass., qualified for the US World Cross Country team on Saturday at the US Winter XC Championships in Spokane, Washington. Greany, from Suffern NY, won the hotly contested 6K junior race in 20:27, with Jones, a freshman at Georgetown University and past multiple time Massachusetts state champion, taking fourth place just 6 seconds behind the winner.

In the senior women's race, Marblehead MA native Shalene Flanagan, living and training in Oregon, was the convincing winner and will lead the women's squad. Not content with just the win, she clocked 25:10 for the 8K, nearly a minute ahead of runner-up Molly Huddle (Providence RI / Saucony), who will also head to Bydgoszcz, Poland to face the world's best on the last weekend in March.

Top local in the senior men's 12K was Jarrod Shoemaker in 18th; no junior men with local connections ran.

Track and field is often the building block for other sports, and we regularly find athletes who go on to great successes in other sports have a solid track and field background.

At the 2000 USATF New England Junior Olympics, Hannah Kearney of Norwich VT won the Youth Girls (13-14) long jump and triple jump, and placed third in the 100. Ten years later - this past Saturday - Hannah won the Olympic gold medal in Vancouver in the moguls skiing competition. Congratulations to her!

Sponsor John Hancock Financial announced six past Boston Marathon winners with 12 victories among them have committed to run the 114th Boston Marathon in April. The group includes defending champions Deriba Merga (Ethiopia) and Salina Kosgei (Kenya), four time winners Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot and Catherine Ndereba (Kenya), and women's podium alumnae Dire Tune (Ethiopia) and Lidiya Grigoryeva (Russia).

Top US men Ryan Hall and Meb Keflezighi were previously announced as running this spring. 2010 is the 25th year of sponsorship by John Hancock Financial. Additional elite runners will be announced in the coming weeks. Up-to-date information can be found at the Boston Athletic Association homepage. Entry into this year's race is closed as of November.

The four state high school programs in the New England association are moving into championship mode, with conference and state meets taking placed in the next two weeks. Facility availability forces early state meets in Vermont and New Hampshire. Last Saturday at Norwich, Green Mountain titles went to Essex girls, with the school's boys sharing a win with South Burlington. One state east, Bishop Guertin swept the New Hampshire Class L titles, with Lebanon girls winning Class I-M-S and another first place tie at the end between Lebanon and Souhegan.

Rhode Island's state meet will close the first season of action at the new Providence Athletic Center on Saturday, February 13, with Massaschusetts Class meets on February 19-21 and the all-State on February 26.

The New Englands will fill the Reggie Lewis Center on Friday evening, March 5, and the Nike Indoor Nationals takes place there the following weekend. Find all your HS schedules, results, lists, and news at dyestat.com.

Top world sprinter Wallace Spearmon Jr presents check to Boston's YES.
Photo: Steve Vaitones

Saucony, whose worldwide headquarters is based in Lexington MA, is moving beyond its distance running roots; today it announced the signing of one of the world's top sprinters, Wallace Spearmon Jr. The personable Spearmon has been a medalist at 200 meters in the past 3 World Championships and moves Saucony into the "fast lane".

At the same conference, Boston community group Youth Enrichment Services (YES) received a $10,000 Saucony "Run for Good" to develop a city based running and track & field program in the city. YES director Bryan Van Dorpe, also the coordinator of the South Boston AC, currently works with USATF-NE and the Greater Roxbury TC on a variety of programs.

Find a full story on this and background on Wallace Spearmon at the Running Network.

The winning youth relay team - the Cambridge Jets
Photo: Steve Vaitones

A packed house enjoyed and encouraged an elite field of international competitors at the 15th Reebok Boston Indoor Games on Saturday, and were rewarded with a new US record in the 5000 meters. The noise level never fell off during the men's 5000 race, as double Olympic gold medalist Bernard Legat had the best kick to clock 13:11.50 for a new American standard. Galen Rupp, who pushed the pace in the second half, placed 4th in 13:14.21, also breaking the old record.

Multiple-time world champion Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia) ran 14:44.53 in the women's 5K, among the top 10 times in history, and Olympic silver medalist Nick Willis (New Zealand) led six men under 4:00 in the mile.

Locals joined in the event excitement, as Chris Teague (HFC Striders) took the win over 15 others in a competitive masters mile in 4:29.05. Katerina Coogan (Phillips Exeter Academy) placed fifth in the junior girls mile (4:59.86), and the Cambridge Jets repeated as winners in the co-ed youth 4x200 relay (1:42.93).

Full results, stories, and pictures at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games website.

WEEKEND ACTION SEES LOCAL At the 103rd Millrose Games in New York City, Francis Hernandez (Bishop Guertin, Nashua NH) placed third in the prestigious high school mile, clocking 4:17.58 (his third sub-4:20 of the month), just three seconds behind the winner. Byron Jones of Westborough MA was 10th in 4:29.28.

Closer to home, at the Boston U Terrier Classic, a pair of New Englanders have run under 14:00 in the 5000 for the first time in several years; Ruben Sanca (3rd, 13:56.46) and Nate Jenkins (4th, 13:56.74) achieved lifetime Personal Bests in the race.

On the roads, Brett Ely (Natick MA / BAA) captured the women's title at the ING Miami Marathon in 2:45:36, achieving the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials "B" standards for women. She was a 2008 qualifier as well.

Hall of Fame Award of Mary Carew Armstrong, and her Olympic gold medal from 1932. (courtesy Steve Vaitones)

Hall of Fame Award of Mary Carew Armstrong, and her Olympic gold medal from 1932.
(Photo courtesy Steve Vaitones)

The Mass. State Track Coaches Association inducted six new members into their Athlete Hall of Fame on Sunday. The 2010 inductees span two centuries and include four Olympians:

Thomas Edmund Burke (Boston English 1893) Sprinter, Olympian 1896
Mildred Wiley Dee (Quincy 1918) High Jump, Olympian 1928
Mary Carew Armstrong (Medford 1931) Sprints, Olympian 1932 (gold medal)
Fran Washington (Boston Trade 1955) Hurdles
Liz Natale (Newton North 1982), Distances
Jonathan Riley (Brookline 1997) Distances, Olympian 2004

The group represents the rich history of the sport in our area, and their biographies are impressive reading.

In its 25th anniversary year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, the Gatorade Company, in conjunction with ESPN RISE, announced its 2009-10 State Cross Country Runner of the Year award-winners. The award recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the racecourse.

Winners from the states in the New England association:

Massachusetts: Andrea Keklak, (Lincoln-Sudbury); Patrick McGowan (Mansfield)
New Hampshire: Heidi Caldwell (Hanover); Eric Jenkins (Portsmouth)
Rhode Island: Abigail Jones (Barrington); Jake Sienko (Bp.Hendricken, Warwick)
Vermont: Hannah Rowe (St.Johnsbury); David Sinclair (Green Mt Valley, Waitsfield)

Boston Athletic Association runners Lucas Meyer and Heidi Westover made a mark on the US road scene for 2010 as they both recorded a top 10 finish at the USA Half Marathon Championships hald at the Houston Aramco Half Marathon on Sunday.

Meyer took 10th place in the race at 1:03:51 behind US Champion Antonio Vega of Minnesota (1:01:54). Westover placed seventh in 1:12:59 as women's race winner, Marblehead MA native Shalane Flanagan, made her debut at the distance. Her 1:09:41 was both a USA Championship record and course record.

Full results and story at usatf.org.

Fields for the prestigious Millrose Games scholastic mile races were finalized this weekend, with 2 New England boys picked for the race.

Francis Hernandez (Bishop Guertin, Nashua NH) won Saturday's automatic qualifier race at Yale in 4:14.98; he has also won the Dartmouth Relays in 4:17.28 and the RI classic in 4:18.82 this season. Fall XC Footlocker finalist Byron Jones (Westborough MA), second in that same race at Yale in 4:16.18 (and second at December's Boston Holiday Challenge), will also toe the line in Madison Square Garden on January 29.

Only 10 runners, selected from a combination of automatic qualifier races, head to head competitions, and season performance lists, make the cut for the race. The last New England winner was Chris Barnicle (Newton MA) in 2005. Lindsay Crevoiserat of Glastonbury CT was the only girl picked from the six state region this year. Read more on the Millrose HS miles at dyestat.com.

The 2009 USATF New England President's Award for contributions to Youth Athletics was presented to John Hrones of Needham Track Club on Sunday during the club's Northeast Indoor Classic. The meet, held at the Reggie Lewis Center, is the largest youth indoor meet in the New England states.

John's involvement with Needham Track Club reached 25 years in 2009, nearly the lifetime of the organization. In those years, he's been an integral part of the summer program that serves 300 plus kids each season, as well as being the go-to guy for the club's three signature events:
- The Great Bear Run road races for all ages.
- The Northeast Indoor Classic, which has grown through four facilities and now has a home at the Reggie Lewis Center.
- The Summer Youth Classic which turned 20 years old in 2009, and is the largest youth meet in New England outside of the Junior Olympics.

Even while captaining for all these projects, he also helped the town of Needham in the project that opened a new track facility this past summer. We thank John and the Needham Track Club for their dedicated service to youth athletics in the association.

The traditional starting gun for the winter big-meet season was fired in Hanover NH over the weekend, as three days of action worked through the Dartmouth indoor track and field facility. A full schedule of scholastic, open, and masters events took place.

Big noise came on the scholastic front, where a number of top-5 HS season marks were registered by New England athletes. Will Geoghegan (Brunswick ME) edges Jake Sienko (Westerly RI) in the nation's leading 2 mile time, 9:18.70 to 9:20.78, and Robert McShane (Bishop Feehan MA) is now #2 in the 1000 meters at 2:32.63. Dom Filiano (Hanover NH) spun the 20lb weight 67-3.5" (#4 US) and Carla Forbes (Newton MA) bounded the #3 triple jump, 39-1.25. Amity CT and Bishop Hendricken (RI) placed one-two in the distance medley, moving to US #2 and #3 in 10:29.58/10:30.81.

A variety of meet records were also set. Full results can be found at lancertiming.com.

A trio of meets are upcoming this weekend for open and youth competitors. Saturday (Jan 2), the Boston University Mini-meet runs at 10 a.m. with the 200, 400, 800, mile, and 3000. At 4pm, a more complete meet is the Roxbury Community College Invite at the Reggie Lewis Center; more sprints and most field events are included (see directathletics.com). On Sunday, Waltham Track Club hosts a youth open meet at Kennedy Middle School in Waltham beginning at 5 p.m.; see walthamtrackclub.com.

More information is at our track schedule, usatfne.org/track.

National Track & Field Hall of Famer and marathon legend Bill Rodgers leads a group of 14 athletes elected to the USA Track & Field Masters Hall of Fame for 2009. Rogers has set eight US masters records in his career, and was a leader in the masters road running movement. In addition to Rodgers (Boxborough MA), two other local active Masters athletes enter the Hall of Fame; multiple World Championship medalist in long distance events Mary Harada (Liberty AC / West Newbury MA) and 93 year old sprinter Bob Matteson (NE 65+ Club / Bennington VT).

The Hall now contains 58 women and 118 men. The complete list is at mastershistory.org.

With two world records and several other close attempts while running in Boston, Ethopian ace Tirunish Dibaba is comfortable on the on the Reggie Lewis Center track. After a year away from the well known blue-and-blue mondo oval, she'll be returning to the Reebok Boston Indoor Games this February with an eye on reclaiming the world indoor 5000 meter record.

The youth Ethiopian already owns two Olympic gold medals, track and road world records, and multiple world titles in cross and track.

What has become the top elite meet in the USA, the Reebok Boston Indoor Games promises to deliver another exciting evening of track and field, with the chance for world and national records always in the cards. The meet is always a sell-out; ticket information is at BostonIndoorGames.com.

Alexander Gallo (Sentinel Striders / North Providence RI) ran to a bronze medal at today's USATF Junior Olympic National Cross Country Championships held in Reno Nevada. Gallo, in the Intermediate Boys (15-16) division, clocked 16:05 over the 5000 meter circuit, just 11 seconds off the winner's pace. Top girls placing was turned in by Gwenyth Winship (Granite State Flash), 5th in the Midget Girls run. Conditions were wintery, and the day's races were delayed an hour due to weather conditions.

Top New Englanders in other divisions were:

Bantam Girls: 37-Anna McCusker, Unattached; Bantam Boys: 29 Joey Weston Bradford ES
Midget Boys: 21-Jake McMaster, Nashua PAL
Youth Girls: 25-Maddy Berkson, Prov.Cobras; Youth Boys: 35-Patrick Chabot, Granite State Flash
Intermediate Girls: 60-Brittany Abbott, Granite State Flash
Young Women: 28-Katharine Meinertz, Sentinels; Young Men: 74-Samuel Belcher, Sugarloaf

The Green Mountain AA Men's 50+ team made every place count and placed first among 15 clubs from around the country in the division to bring home the gold medals at the USA Fall National Cross Country Championships in Lexington KY. The Vermonters had just a one point margin over Club Northewest, 75-76, with their New England rivals Greater Lowell Road Runners in the bronze medal position at 79 points. <<br /> GMAA was led by Norm Larson (3rd individual M50) as their depth through 5 runners gave them the edge. GLRR had a pair of individual division winners among their 5 scorers; John Barbour won the M55 category and Bill Dixon was 1st 60+.

Top placing team in the men's 40+ division (18 teams) was Dirigo RC at 109 points, with New England champ Greater Springfield Harriers sixth. Best individual was NE champ Kent Lemme (GSH/Williamstown MA), 10th overall 9th M40-44) in the field of 293 men. Other individual medalists were Mike Payson (Dirigo, 3-M45) and Mark Reeder (GLRR, M50-2).

No men over 70, nor any women masters at all competed in the meet. Detailed scoring at usatf.org.

New England champions Jenn Donovan and Lucas Meyer led the New England contingent competing at the USA Fall National Cross Country Championships in Lexington KY on Saturday.

Donovan (New Balance Boston/Brighton MA) improved a spot from last year, placing fourth among 234 open women and 16 seconds behind winner Serena Burla (Ellisville MO, and 4th at the Boston Mayor's Cup). She also led the New Balance Boston team to a sixth place finish, one spot up on the BAA (top placer: Kristin Murphy, 31st) and ahead of Greater Boston (14th, Allison McCabe 47th) among 29 clubs; Boulder Running Company took team honors with 79 points.

Meyer (Boston AA/Ridgefield CT) scored fifth place in a 318 runner field with 42 scoring teams. His Unicorn squad placed 10th with New Balance Boston (14, Ari Zamir 25) and Greater Boston TC (31, Ryan Place 67) also in the mix. Full results at usatf.org.

Local athletes and administrators were recognized by their peers at last week's USATF national Annual Meetings in Indianapolis.

The USATF Mountain/Ultra/Trail Running (MUT) Council named two New Englanders among their 2009 award winners. The Men's Masters Mountain Runner of the year is Dave Dunham (CMS/ Bradford MA). Dave took home the gold in the age 45-49 group at the US Mountain Championships at Mt Cranmore, was the USATF New England champion (45-49), and USATF-NE Mountain running series champion with firsts in all series race age divisions. Dave is also official scorekeeper for the USATF NE Mountain series, and directs multiple trail/mountain races.

Contributor of the Year honor goes to NE chairman Paul Kirsch. Kirsch was the race director for NACAC/USA Mountain Running Champs including coordinating housing and transportation for elite athletes; he did the same for elite athletes for the Mount Washington Race. Kirsch serves as the USATF-NE Mountain /Ultra/Trail Chairperson, and heads up the USATF-NE Mountain Running Circuit which saw increased participation this year. He also successfully recruited the Rhode Island 6 Hour Ultra to be USATF-NE Ultra Championships. Kirsch provides website design and maintenance for the US Mountain Running Team website & blog (usmrt.com).

Three local legends were among the 13 athletes formally selected for the USATF Masters Hall of Fame. 2009 honoreees include distance runner Mary Harada (West Newbury MA / Liberty AC), all event runner Bob Matteson (Bennington VT), and marathoner Bill Rodgers (Sherborne MA).

Additionally, the 2010 Mt.Washington Road Race, celebrating its 50th anniversary, will host the USA Mountain Running Championship which will select the entire US team for next fall's World Mountain Running Championship.

Read more about the convention at www.usatf.org

With sadness, we report that long time New England runner and coach Larry Olsen of Hopedale MA passed away on Sunday at age 63 while on a club run.

Larry, founder of the Tri Valley Frontrunners, won dozens of individual New England championship titles on the roads, track and cross courses in his career. An enthusiastic competitor in the Grand Prix series, he won the series eight times in the 40-49, 50-59, and 60-69 divisions since 1989, and had contested over 100 of our road championships in that time period. He also set several US National Masters records, and had the distinction of being the outright winner of races in each decade of his life from his teens to age 60+.

He owned his own store, "Front Runner" for many years, and had been coaching at Hopedale HS, as well as some local open runners. He will be missed on the New England running scene.

(From Dyestate.com report) Despite the longshot label they carried, Bishop Hendricken (Warwick RI) came up with an emotionally charged upset victory over several highly ranked teams to gain an automatic qualifier spot for the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) in two weeks. None of the top ranked boys or girls teams at the race held in Wappingers Falls NY earned auto qualifiers.
Hendricken raced in memory of the late great runner from RI, Bobby Doyle, whose son is a senior on the team. They beat 5 nationally top-40 ranked teams to get a spot on the starting line in Oregon in 2 weeks.

Similarly, the unranked girls teams from Bishop Feehan (Attleboro MA) and LaSalle (Providence RI) went 1-2 with 114 and 121 to take the girls' automatic qualifiers. Qualifying as individuals based on a top 5 finish were Aaron Watanabe (Hanover NH, 3rd) along with Abby Jones (Barrington RI, 4th) and Jacy Christiansen (Mascenic Regional NH, 5th).

In the Footlocker Northeast Regional at Sunken Meadow Park on Long Island (an individual focused meet with just 4 qualifying races around the country), just a single NE association based runner will make the trip to San Diego; John Murray of Shrewsbury just 11th at the Mass. Div I Championship, placed 10th to nail the final qualifying spot. Two girls from Maine - including the highest placer from the 6 NE states, Abbey Leonardi of Kennebunk in second - and four runners from Connecticut will join Murray on December 12.

Read about both races at dyestat.com, the most complete source for HS XC and TF.

She started working for the CIGNA Falmouth Road Race 38 years ago, and Kathleen Sherman has received the recognition she truly deserved. Sherman was named the MarathonFoto/Road Race Management Race Director of the Year at the recent Road Race Management race directors' meeting held in Hollywood Beach Florida.

"It's really nice after all these years for someone to say, 'good job,'" Sherman said in accepting the award which was presented by the Running Network. Sherman was selected by a panel assembled by Road Race Management, the newsletter and service organization dedicated to road race directing. Her selection reflected the judges' opinion that she had displayed exemplary service to one of the America's best-known road races, doing jobs as varied as supervising truck loading and handling the race announcing.

Sherman's husband, Rich, is a founder and co-director of the event. "We've done well working on this race for 40 years," she said of her husband. "And I've really been blessed with sponsors who have stayed with us over the years," she said.

Founded in 1973 with just 92 runners, the race was held for the 37th time this year. Race champions include some of the sport's all-time greats: Bill Rodgers, Alberto Salazar, Joan Samuelson, Lorraine Moller, Lynn Jennings, Lornah Kiplagat and Catherine Ndereba. Sherman has been there to see them all. (from Race Results Weekly report)

USATF New England association clubs dominated team scoring in the Region I Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships held at Cony HS in Augusta Maine on Sunday. 19 of the 27 teams headed to the National meet from the Region (all New England states plus New York) will be from USATF-NE. Sentinel Striders won three age divisions (Intermediate Boys and Girls, Young Men) and also qualified both midget teams. Team golds were also picked up by Bradford Elementary (Bantam Boys - their first ever team to Nationals), Nashua PAL (Bantam Birls), Waltham TC (Midget girls), Granite State Flash (Midget Boys), and Gate City Striders (Youth Girls). The Flash scored five other age division team advancers, PAL three others, and Waltham one more.

Three individual winners come from the association; Maddie Berkson (Providence Cobras, RI) in the Youth Girls division, and Intermediate Division winners Felicia Lombardi (Brookline NH) and Alexander Gallo (Sentinel Striders). A majority of individual advancers from the ten races also hail from the association.

The National Championships run on December 12 in Reno, Nevada. Results from Region I are posted at the USA Maine website.

Some top performances were turned in by collegians from the six state region at the three NCAA Cross Country Championships held on Saturday and Monday.

At the Division III meet in Cleveland on Saturday, Williams College placed second overall, with Amherst (17), Brandeis (24), and Keene State (29) also making the finals. Three NE men placed in the top 10; Edgar Kosgei led Williams with a 3rd place finish, best from the area, followed by Paul Norton (Brandeis, 6th), and Jesse Faller (Tufts, 7th) in the top 10. In the women's race, Middlebury and MIT, after tying for NE Region honors, placed highest among locals in fourth and fifth in the field of of 32 teams. Tech's Maria Monks (13th) was top individual.

At the Division II meet in Evansville IN, the men's bronze medal came home with American International College (Springfield) freshman Glarius Rop, with NE team interests represented by U.Mass Lowell (16th) and Stonehill (21st). The two hawk varieties swapped positions almost equally in the women's race with frosh Erin Carmone leading Stonehill to 16th, while UML finished 23rd.

Division I's traditional Monday gun at Indiana State found Providence women, the sole NE team, in 11th led by soph Hannah Davidson in 37th; upset winner was Angela Bizzarri of Illinois with Villanova back in the team winner's circle after a lengthy absence.

The Friars were also the sole NE school in the men's tallies, placing 20th. Portsmouth NH product Cory Thorne, running for Louisville, was 24th, Ryan Collins (Mansfield MA/Virginia) was 41st, one place up on Harvard's Dan Chenoweth, top NE collegian. The individual race was a runaway win by Liberty U's Samual Chelanga, and Oklahoma State scored a strong team victory.

Additional individuals from the area peppered the team and indivdual results in all three divisions. All results can be referenced from ncaa.com.

The 2010 USATF-NE Grand Prix Series has been selected by an online vote of the membership. A total of 440 votes were cast during the one-week period from November 11 through 18. The results of the vote have been verified by the LDR Chairs and the winning schedule is Slate "C", as follows:

Jones Group Realtors 10 Mile, 10M, Amherst MA, Sun, Feb. 28
New Bedford Half Marathon, 13.1M, New Bedford MA, Sun., Mar 21
Bedford Rotary Memorial 12K,12K , Bedford NH, Sat., May 22
Rhody 5K (MEN ONLY) ,5K ,Lincoln RI , Sun., June 6
Stowe 8 Miler, 8M, Stowe VT, Sun., July 18
Bridge of Flowers 10K , 10K , Shelburne Falls MA, Sat., August 14
Providence Ronald McDonald House Women's Classic (WOMEN ONLY) 5K, Providence, Sun, Oct. 3

In a separate vote, the Marathon selected is the Bay State Marathon, Lowell MA, Sun., Oct. 17, 8:00 AM

The vote was the final step in new process in which a selection committee consisting of the Long Distance Running Chairs and representatives from the clubs created a ballot from the 17 bidding races with 4 slates of non-marathon distance races, a separate ballot question for the marathon distance and a survey question on a post-series awards banquet. The Survey Question for a banquet was 54% in favor.

Timothy Davis (Team RUN) had a strong race in winning the Bantam Boys race on The Farm (courtesy Mark Coddaire)

Timothy Davis (Team RUN) had a strong race in winning the Bantam Boys race on The Farm
(Photo courtesy Mark Coddaire)

After the rains of Saturday, it was a perfect day on Sunday for the USATF-NE Junior Olympic Cross Country meet at Freestyle Farm in Amherst NH. The 557 entries was the largest in 5 years.

Five teams took home at least one team title, led by Granite State Flash's four (Midget Girls, Midget Boys, Youth Boys, Intermediate Girls). Sentinel Striders took two wins (Intermediate Boys, Young Men), with Bradford Elementary (Bantam Boys), Nashua PAL (Bantam Girls), and GCS Triad (Youth Girls) each with one team win.

The top 3 teams and individuals finishing in the top 25 advance to this weekend's Region I meet in Augusta Maine. Results are at usatfne.org/cross and Region I info is at meusatf.org.

Jennifer Donovan (new balance Boston / Boston MA) was named to the Team USA squad for the 2009 International Chiba Ekiden to be held Monday, November 23 in Chiba, Japan. Ten nations will be represented in the event. The race features mixed teams of men and women running six alternating legs totaling the marathon distance (26.22 miles / 42.195 km). It's her first selection to represent Team USA.

Ben Nephew and Lisa Mikkelsen at the RI 6 Hour Run on Sunday, the USATF-NE ultra distance championship. It was the first ultra title race in the association in several years.

Nephew (Mansfield MA / CMS) covered 51.323 miles in 5:58:41 (distance based on last complete lap in the time period) running much of the race with Martin Tighe (Providence / TNT) who was one minute behind at 5:59:41 and earning the masters gold. Third USATF-NE finisher was Seth Roberts (Longmeadow MA / GSH) at 37.817 miles in 5:53:57. Mikkelsen (Holliston MA / INOV-8) was first open and master NE runner; the overall women's winner was Danielle Cherniak of Cohoes NY at 41.409 miles. 67 individuals took part in this successful first-ever competition.

The NE ultra championship will vary in distance from 50K through 100K in future years, based on the event selected. Full results at coolrunning.com.

On-line voting is open for the selection of the 2010 USATF-New England Road Race Grand Prix. New England members age 18 and over can cast their vote for one of four slates, plus one of two marathons. Full instructions (read them carefully!) and the slates are the first topic at usatf.org

You must have a current membership and your password; a password can be requested via the national website membership page.

Voting continues until Wednesday, November 18, at 11:59 p.m, with results to be announced on Friday, November 20.

CMS team at the USA Trail Marathon Championship (courtesy of Dave Dunham)

CMS team at the USA Trail Marathon Championship
(Photo courtesy of Dave Dunham)

The Central Mass Striders foursome of Jim Johnson, Dan Verrington, Dave Dunham, and Judge Jones combined to win both the USATF National Trail Marathon Open and Masters Team Championships in Ashland, Oregon on Sunday. The first three took the open gold, and with Jones replacing Johnson in the totals, the masters crown as well. All scored individual medals; Johnson placed fifth overall in 2:56:57, Verrington and Dunham finished 1-2 in the M45-49 division (3:03:10 / 3:09:36) and 9/11 overall, and Jones second 55-59 (3:48:39, 23rd overall.

The individual race winner was former US world cross country team member Max King of Bend OR (2:40:23). Full results at usatf.org

Lucas Meyer and Jenn Donovan led the men's and women's fields, respectively around Franklin Park on Sunday to win their first New England Cross Country Titles. Two weekend days in a row with great cross country weather made for good racing conditions.

Meyer (BAA) dueled with Ruben Sanca (Boston) and was ultimately first down the straightaway, stopping the clock at 30:05 with his pursuer 13 seconds back after 10K. Donovan (New Balance Boston) had a larger gap over the shorter 6K, winning in 20:

The Boston Athletic Association claimed both open team titles, followed by Greater Boston TC and New Balance Boston in the men's totals; the latter clubs reversed order in the women's tallies.

Kent Lemme (Williamstown MA) led a 1-2-4 finish of individual placers by Greater Springfield Harriers in the masters 8K, enough for the team win over Dirigo. Within the women's race, Christine Reaser was the first 40+ by 7 seconds over Jen Hegarty, and Green Mountain AA won the 40+ team honors over Liberty as both totaled 13 but GMAA having the better third scorer.

Other masters placers and team scores are with the results at usatfne.org/cross

Stonehill College (North Easton MA) and U.Mass.-Lowell will advance both their men's and women's teams to the NCAA Division II Nationals in two week, based on their top two finish placings in the East Region qualifier at Franklin Park on Sunday. Stonehill led UML 51-76 on the women's while the placers were reversed in the men's race, River Hawks winning 43-67 over Sky Hawks. The two squads have dominated the team results in the region in recent years.

Two other New England collegians will advance as individuals by placing in the top 5 overall. Following a series of victories including the all-New Englands this fall, overall men's winner Glarius Rop of American International College (Springfield) dominated the race and clocked 30:16 ahead of runner-up and teammate Victor Kemboi; both will also Evansville IN on November 21.

More information at goriverhawks.com

Under sunny skies and in seasonal temperatures, the first Massachusetts Middle School Invitational Championship, sponsored by Saucony, ran a successful series of races on Saturday at Devens. A team championship plus three grade races for both boys and girls had spirited competition and runners from nearly 100 schools, who covered the 1.7 mile two loop course; the girls team event having the top 3 teams within three points.

Alexia Lipman of Bromfield /Harvard ran the fastest girls time, 9:52 in the team race. Diamond Middle School of Lexington topped all schools with 132 points.

The boys' fastest time was turned in by Jordan Comeau of Murdoch/Winchendon in 9:21 in the eighth grade race. The R.J.Gray Middle School of Acton/Boxborough was the winning boys team at 109 points.

Full results at coolrunning.com

Joan Samuelson at NYC Marathon
Photo: Used with permission from the Running Network

Sunday's New York City Marathon was the largest marathon in history, and several performances of note among the 43,475 finishers in the 40th anniversary race. US Olympian Meb Keflezighi became the first American winner since Alberto Salazar in 1982, clocking a personal best 2:09:15 to beat 4 time Boston Champ Robert Cheruiyot and two time World Champion Jaouad Gharib.

In the USA Men's Championship contest, Pat Tarpey (Providence) was the first New England finisher in his debut at the distance, placing 21st overall/13 US in 2:20:43.

On the women's side (not the championship), reliable Heidi (Westerling) Westover was 13th in 2:44:59. In 17th, Joan Benoit Samuelson continues to defy the aging process, setting a the US women's age 50+ record in 2:49:09.

In other weekend accomplishments outside the 6 state region by locals, Portsmouth NH HS grad Cory Thorne, now at U.Louisville, won the Big East Conference cross country championships held in Kenosha WI, and Harvard's Dan Chenoweth led the field at the Heptagonals (Ivy League) at Van Cortlandt Park, NY. Ryan Collins (Mansfield MA / U.Virginia) was second in the Atlantic Coast Conference title race held in NC Big East Conference Championships

Sean Quigley, originally from Braintree, Massachusetts, won in a lean over last year's champion Jacob Korir of Kenya, to win the 20th Mayor's Cup Cross Country 8k Championship at Boston's Franklin Park on Sunday in a time of 23:54. Quigley, a graduate of LaSalle University in Philadelphia and who now runs for Puma, returned to the course where he won the Mass. Division II high school state championship in 2002 while at Archbishop Williams and beat a talented field of 144 finishers on a picture perfect day.

Quigley and Korir separated themselves from the other co-leaders on the final loop and the course's landmark Bear Cage Hill. Quigley did not lead during the race but timed his finish sprint perfectly, as he recorded the same winning time as did Korir in 2008; Korir finished one second.

New Balance Boston led by Roland Lavallee, scored 75 points, and won the men's championship team competition over host Boston Athletic Association (78) and Genesee Valley Harriers (96).

In the women's 5K championship race, Kenyan native Irene Kimaiyo outpaced Virginia's Samia Akbar. Kimaiyo's time, 16:39, was 13 seconds better than Akbar. Kimaiyo's Team Riadha - victorious with 43 points - placed three runners among the top four of the 95 finishers. Eight teams scored, with New Balance Boston and the B.A.A. both tallying 53 but the former taking 2nd with the tie-breaker.

The Mayor's Cup has witnessed Olympians, world cross country team members and running legends participate over its hill and dale since the first race in 1990. During the last 20 years, the event has grown from a single race with 9 competitors to a full slate of six races - including an open 5K and three youth races - similar to the growth of the B.A.A.'s Boston Marathon. With the support of the same B.A.A. and its partner adidas, the Mayor's Cup is the pre-eminent cross country racing opportunity for clubs and teams on the East Coast.

Full results at www.coolrunning.com.
(story from Jack Fleming / BAA)

Division winners:
Men - Sean Quigley, Puma 23:54 ($600 + $300 USA)
Team - New Balance Boston, 75 ($500)
Women - Irene Kimaiyo, Riadha 16:39 ($600)
Team - Riadha, 43 ($500)

Franklin Park 5k (356 finishers)
Men - Antony Taylor, Arlington MA, 16:04
Women - Samantha Chase, Warwick RI, 19:51

Youth Races (1.1 miles)
Age 10 and under
Boys - David Principe, Cranston RI, 6:40
Girls - Chloe Taylor, Waltham TC, 6:32
Age 11-12

Boys - Isaiah Savage, South Shore Fireboltz, 6:42
Girls - Sonya Jampel, Waltham TC, 6:40
Age 13-14

Boys - Geoffrey Pendergass, Nitehawks, 5:55
Girls - Phoebe Morse, Nitehawks, 6:16

The 20th anniversary edition of the Boston Mayors Cup runs at Franklin Park this Sunday, October 25. Six races - three youth for ages 14 and under, the Franklin Park 5K for all abilities, and championship women's 5K and men's 10K events - should draw about 1000 runners to the historic and traditional course. Online entry is closed, but entry is allowed on race day. Entry and schedule info is at the Mayor's Cup website. Join the fun and run cross country on Sunday.

With temperatures as low as 30's, Brandon Newbould and Sara Donahue kept the heat on over 26.2 miles and won New England Championships at Sunday's 21st BayState Marathon in Lowell. The marathon can be a race of attrition, and the men's contest was not decided until there was less than a mile to go; Justin Fyffe (CMS) and Joseph Koech broke from the field by 4 miles, and worked together at the front, building as much as a 2 minute lead. At 30 kilometers, Fyffe moved 2 seconds ahead of Koech as the master ace was affected by the conditions (and gamely finished in 24th). At 23 miles, the lead was 1:30 over second place, who was now Newbould - looking strong and working on a negative split in the windy run to the finish. Fyffe had no answer when the Whirlaway runner, a coach at Phillips Exeter Academy contesting his fourth marathon, decisively passed him in the final mile and strode to his first 26.2 mile win in a personal best 2:27:53. Fyffe earned the series win with his second place in 2:28:15.

Donahue (Gr.Boston TC) looked fresh as she crossed the line in 2:51:16, having passed runner-up Sumner Fletcher (unattached, Uxbridge MA) for the lead in the final third of the course; the latter clocked a personal best 2:52: for silver. The win by the doctoral student was productive on many accounts as she also led GBTC to the race and series titles, and gave her the individual GP crown.

The worst weather in the past decade of the event (maybe ever), conditions only got worse through the morning, as spitting rain became a steady flow and the wind picked up from the 8 a.m. gun through the 6 hour mark, and those leaving the awards ceremony had a ride home in snow; hardly October conditions. The 1561 finishers was a record (as was the 1226 in the half), though there were numerous "did-not-finish". Director Mark Coddaire and his large volunteer crew did a commendable job in the rough conditions.

Results of the marathon and half marathon are at www.baystatemarathon.com. GP standings will be updated by Tuesday night, after checking on a few corrections. usatfne.org/gp.

Presentation meeting for bidders for the 2010 series is Monday, November 2, at Brandeis University.

A handful of championships and elite events ran through the Columbus Day weekend, each meriting a headline of their own below).

New Balance Boston won the team title for the second year (and the B team finished 7th)
Photo: Steve Vaitones

With the ultimate results again coming down to the final straightaway, Molly Huddle (Saucony) repeated as winner at the 33rd annual Tufts Health Plan 10 K for Women and with it, the USA Women's 10 km Championship, Monday through Boston and Cambridge. It was the third US road championship title in 2009 for the diminutive Providence-based runner. The traditional COlumbus Day event served as the USA Championship for the 15th time in the past 16 years.

Kenyan Genoveva Kigan had a 5 second lead just 400 meters into the race and by one mile, a chase pack had whittled itself down to four. Around the B.U.Rotary, that pack became a single file line led by Huddle with Rebecca Donaghue (new balance Boston) in third. The 5K splits of 15:58 for the leader and 16:02 for Huddle foreshadowed fast finish times on the beautiful afternoon. The time margin was reduced to zero at the hairpin turn before the four mile mark when Huddle came up on Kigan's shoulder. the two maintained the side-by-side position until the series of turns in the final 600 meters, and the winner was first to hit the homestretch on Charles Street.

After her slim one second margin in 2008, there was a more comfortable gap of 5 seconds at the tape, her time of 32:07 marking a personal best; only 2 winning times have been faster in the past decade. Following Kigan, Donaghue also ran a personal best 32:29 for third place and, backed up by teammate Jenn Donovan (Brighton MA) in twelfth - 8th American (PB 33:29) - and Kim Partee, New Balance Boston repeated as team champions with Boulder Running Company again second.

After the final race of ten on the Women's 2009 USA Running Circuit (USARC), 2008 Olympian Magdalena Lewy Boulet (Oakland, Calif.) - though only 20th at Tufts - was crowned the women's USARC Grand Prix champion with 59 points. Colleen De Reuck (Boulder CO) finished second with 54 points and Huddle third (50). The USARC, a USA Track & Field road series, features USA Championships from 5K to the marathon.

The largest women's 10K in the country had over 5700 finishers, with the top 50 women faster than 37:37. Results are at coolrunning.com.

A pair of Olympians covered the most ground on Sunday at the USA 1 Hour Race Walk Championship held at Bentley University in Waltham on Sunday. Two time Olympian Tim Seaman (San Diego CA/ NYAC) covered 13,307 (splitting 10K in 45:00) to beat many-time internationalist Ray Sharp (Atlantic Mines MI) for the men's title; it was his 40th USA Championship of his career, third best total in US history. Seaman, who also coaches a stable of walkers, found his charges take third in both races.

Teresa Vaill (Gainesville FL / Walk USA) dominated the women's race. The sole US walker at last summer's World Championships, Vaill cranked out 60 minutes of even splits to end up with a distance 12,263 meters in the 60 minutes. Both Vaill and Seaman were winners in the USA 5K walk the previous weekend.

Top USATF-New England competitors were Bob Keating (NE Walkers, 7th, 10808 meters, 1st 60-64) and Pat Godfrey (CSU, 10th, 9181 meters, 1st 60-64). Team winners were Maine Walkers women and Pegasus AC (Michigan) men. Results and a photo slideshow are at usatfne.org/walk

The fourth race in the 2009 USATF-NE Cross Country Circuit, the Wayland XC Festival, topped 330 runners this year, with record numbers participating in the youth 3k races.

The fourth annual race saw records fall in the open 5K and youth 3K races, both male and female. Tim Ritchie of Brighton MA set the pace in the open 5k at 15:12 with GBTC's Jennifer Lee pulling the women's standard down to 18:48 ahead of previous record holder Caitlyn Clark of Sisu Project. In the 3k race, Phoebe Morss (Nitehawks) shattered the girls' course record with a time of 10:57, and teammate Arthur Whitehead improving the boys' mark to 10:17.

Full results of the race can be found at waylandxc.com and GP standings are tallied at nexcgrandprix.org. Next up is the October 25 Mayor's Cup in Boston.

Irishman and Providence College alum Martin Fagan and Ethiopian Belainesh Gebre took advantage of dry conditions and temperatures in the mid-40s to run to wins in the ninth annual B.A.A. Half Marathon through Boston's Emerald Necklace loop. Fagan, who set an Irish national record of 1:00:57 earlier in the year, clocked 1:02:21, just one tick off the course record. It was a 2 man race from the mile onward, with Fagan only earning the victory over Kenyan Philimon Tererin the final 100 meters, as the two were within strides of each other from the gun. The women's race looked to followed a similar script early on, but Gebre moved from third to the lead after the half way point, and was clear of challengers by twelfth mile.

Among the international and national caliber runners in the field of the 4025 starters (3989 finishers), the top New Englanders were the host club's Will Dobbie (10th, 1:07:40) and Kasie Enman (7th, 1:17:31), both leading their unicorn squads to team wins. Complete results at coolrunning.com

Heidi Westover - formerly Westerling - (BAA / Acworth NH) placed 38th and fourth American at the IAAF World 1/2 Marathon Championships in Birmingham England on Sunday. A late addition to the US team, the New England champion ran 1:14:22 and was part of the fifth place US team. Winner was Mary Keitany of Kenya in 1:06:36, with Amy Begley top American in 11th (1:10:09). Providence based Kim Smith, representing New Zealand, placed 7th in a national record 1:09:35.

In the men's race, Dathan Ritzenhein clocked a an even 1:00:00 to win the Bronze medal and set a personal best. Winning for the fourth straight edition was Zersenay Tadese of Eritria. The US men were fourth - just 8 seconds out of the medals - behind Kenya, Eritria, and Ethiopia. Stories and links are at www.usatf.org.

On Saturday, the 97th edition of the New England Intercollegiate Cross Country Championships ran at Franklin Park in Boston with both varsity and JV races totaling close to 1200 runners.

Individual race winners scored the first ever golds for their respective schools. American International College (AIC) had their first win in New England cross or track with freshman Glarius Rop (Eldoret KEN) holding the lead almost from the gun in the men's race, and U.Maine senior Corey Conner ( ) being the first Black Bear to lead the women's field to the finish.U.Mass-Lowell was a repeat team champion on the men's side with a 93-116 margin over cross-state rival U.Mass-Amherst, while Brown took the women's team trophy, gapping runner-up Boston College 130-170. See neicaaa.org for full results.

Leading the way at the event selected as the "Greenest Road Race in America", Pat Moulton (BAA / Pelham, NH) won the ING Hartford Marathon Saturday in 2:25:22, taking home $6000 in the process. NE Grand Prix leader Titus Mutinda (Team RUN / Lowell MA) was second overall and first master in 2:29:14. Running a personal best, Jeannette Seckinger (BAA / Somerville MA) clocked 2:46:33 and the same prize purse as Moulton, with Somerville Road Runner's Diona Fulton second in 2:51:12 and masters winner Tara Cardi (Reebok Providence / E Greenwich RI) third in 2:53:31.

A pair of New England high school harrier powerhouses made the medal stand on October 3 at the prestigious Great American Cross Country Festival in North Carolina. Great American, run by the National Scholastic Sports Foundation, attracts invited teams from all over the Eastern US.

In the "Race of Champions", the top division, Bishop Guertin of New Hampshire placed second with 149 points, one marker better than Rhode Island's Bishop Hendricken at 150. (The scoring originally had the two teams reversed in placing until a scoring error was found the following day). The race was won by Brookwood of Snellville, Georgia at 118. Individually, Hendricken's Jacob Sienko placed third in 15:20, and Guertin's Francis Hernandez was a place behind in 15:23. Both were among the top 10 times of the day at a meet that contested 16 races. In the Invitational Boys seeded race, Amherst-Pelham (MA) Regional was fifth.

They'll likely meet again at the New England HS championships in November.

The selection process for the 2010 Road Race Grand Prix will be more detailed, but also allow for more participation in the voting.

The new process has three steps:

First, a bid presentation meeting similar to prior year's meetings will be held on Monday evening, November 2, at Brandeis University in the Gosman Athletic Center (the same site at last year). All races interested in hosting a championship will make their presentations to the membership. Events will be presented in groups by distance, with questions and answers following the distance group.

The change comes in that there will be no voting on November 2. Instead, a committee made up of the three road running chairs and a mix of up to a dozen active and top scoring clubs will discuss the bids, compare races and schedules, and create three options for "slates" of seven series races that will be voted on by members via the web. Voting will take place from November 9 through November 16, with results announced November 17.

This new process achieves several goals. First, the creation of three options for the seven race series will allow thought to be given to the sport's "big picture"'; conflicts with holidays and other major events can be addressed and ensure a balanced calendar with thoughtful discussion. While some measure of democracy may be lost by not voting for each distance and each race at one meeting, it will avoid schedule issues that come up each year (3 races in 4 weeks, conflicts with other championships).
Second, the facts on all events can be posted and compared in more detail with a posted spreadsheet.
Third, online voting will allow more individual members to be part of the selection. A weeknight evening meeting regularly eliminates participation of those living several hours away, and people arriving and leaving over the course of the meeting can change votes. Voting by all members age 18 and over will be possible, and will be monitored by using the individual USATF membership number and password (so if the password is forgotten, contact National for the password to be sent back to you).

We hope that this will prove to be a step forward in the Grand Prix series. Find more details at the Grand Prix page. And, if you know of an event that might want to bid to host a 2010 Championship, there is still time to submit a bid. Contact the office if you have any questions.

Several carloads of New England's top masters traveled west and returned with significant hardware at the USA Masters 5K held with the 17th Syracuse (NY) Festival of Races on October 4. The race is always among the top fall 5K runs in the northeast, and the championship added to the race quality.

Averaging 17:07 for their scorers, the Green Mountain AA quintet of Vermonters Norm Larson, Tony Bates, James Miller, Kevin McMahon, and Jack Pilla was a strong winner in the M50+ division, while the New England 65+ RC trio of Bil Spencer, John Pelton, and Jerry LeVasseur took home gold with a 22:21 average. GMAA also medaled in the 60+ scoring, taking second.

There were also individual successes, with New Englanders taking both golds in the 50's divisions; Tom Ryan (Dirigo RC) in M50 (16:16) and Reno Stirrat (Whirlaway) in M55 (16:45). Bill Tribou (Connecticut) topped the M85 at 32:39.

Other individual medals won by NE runners included silvers by Ron Lombardi (Gr.Springfield Harriers, M45, 16:01) and Ted McKnight (GMAA, M65, 20:43), and bronze won by Francis Burdett (GSH, M40, 15:16), Kevin McMahon (GMAA, M55, 17:02) and Bill Spencer (NE65+, M70, 21:15). No NE women finished in the medal hunt.

Burdett was 10th overall in the race, while Ryan was third overall in the masters' age graded scoring. Full results at festivalofraces.com

Shari Piers (Falmouth ME / Dirigo RC) took advantage of fall conditions and places seventh at the USA Women's Marathon Championship on Sunday at the Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis MN. As important as the $3000 prize money, both she and Heather Cappello (BAA/Waltham MA), who placed 22nd, both bettered the qualifying time for the 2012 USA Women's Olympic Marathon Trials; the USA Championship was the only opportunity to achieve that standard in 2009.

The race was won by Ilsa Paulson of New York in 2:31:49, and 47 women broke 2:50:00 in the race. Other locals among the frontrunners were Lesley Hocking (Dover NH/BAA), 44th in 2:49:20, and Simonetta Piergentili (Wilmington MA/Whirlaway), 55th in 2:52:17 (and 12th master).

Sign on the USATF NE Facebook page to show your support, get news and updates, and connect with other members.

You can also join the USATF National Fan Page where all of the sport's national news and press releases are posted for your enjoyment.

Mirroring similar successful events in Connecticut and New Hampshire, a new Massachusetts State Middle School Invitational "Championship" will be held this fall. USATF New England is part of a team organizing and running this first time event to be held on Saturday, November 7, at Devens MA.

Building on the success of the Northeastern Conference Invitational that has grown to over 1000 runners in 6 years, event founder Joe Abelon of Lynn created the event to offer younger runners a chance at a big meet. With increased participation in middle School cross country in recent years, interest in the meet is high.

With no statewide Massachusetts organiziation legislating middle school sports, the event is open to public, parochial, private, charter, and home school students, covering grades 5-8 (if grades 5-6 are in a middle school). A team championship race - all runners must be in the same school, not just from the same town) will be supplemented with additional races by grade to ensure all of a team's runners may participate. Large entry numbers may require 2 divisions in some races.

We hope this will lead to increased participation in the NE Junior Olympic program as well. The meet has sponsorship form Saucony, and will be run with the support of MassDevelopment in Devens.

The general information, entry form, and Frequently Asked Questions can be found at the USATF-NE Cross Country page. Entry deadline is October 16.

Joseph Koech (Team RUN) and Brett Ely (BAA) at the Lone Gull 10K in Gloucester MA. Perfect weather, and a mostly flat oceanfront course let to fine times top to bottom, with the 777 finishers being more than 50 percent better than last year.
Men's winner Koech took double honors for the second week in a row, as the past world-level runner was also the first master. Unlike the Ollie, where the race came down to a kick in the final 50 meters, Koech made a move on the turn at 1 1/2 miles and never looked back. The top 7 were under 31:00, and more under 32:00, making it the deepest local 10K in many a year, and places two through five were within 5 seconds. Among women, Ely had just as easier a time along the scenic shorefront, her margin being 44 seconds over Tammie Robie (Whirlaway RT) at the tape.

Behind Koech, Titus Mutinda (Team Run) was next over 40, and retains the overall lead in the series over the race winner. Women's masters division had Tina Dowling(adidas NE) 3 ticks ahead of Barbara McManus (CMS) and 9 seconds on Sim Piergentilli (WRT). Craig Fram (WRT) and Cathy Merra (GCS Triad) gained their third 50+ division wins, Gordon McFarland (CSU) moved into the lead with his 60+ title, and hometowner Carrie Parsi, at 70 years young, was first women over 60.

The young Adidas New England squad outlegged the BAA men for team honors, as places in the top 6 required max efforts by every scorer; Team RUN (3) and Whiraway (4) were separated by 3 seconds, and CMS and GBTC in 5-6 were just 2 seconds apart. Whirlaway won both the M40 and M50 battles, with CSU leading the M60. On the women's side of the ledger, Greater Boston (open), Whirlaway (40+) and GCS Triad (50+) took home the gold.

Current standings and Ironrunner lists after 6 events are posted at the USATF-NE GP page.

The Bay State Marathon closes the 2009 series on Sunday, October 18; the marathon is now open only to USATF-NE members; it's otherwise full. The latest standings and Ironrunner lists are at the Grand Prix page. Ironrunners should check for completeness, and contact the office with jacket size if not previously submitted.

Matt Tegenkamp and Amy Yoder Begley (both Portland OR) won the respective men's and women's titles Sunday at the USA 5 km Championships in Providence RI at the 20th annual CVS/Caremark Downtown 5K. The race drew a record crowd in the signature event as well as the youth events and high school "inspiration run".

Both competed in this summer's World Track & Field Championships, as Tegenkamp ws the US 5000 meter track champion and Begley took the USA 10,000 meter track title in June. Making the final turn off Canal Street and up the only major hill on the course, Tegenkamp made his move to kick to a one-second win in 13:57. Top New Englander in the men's race was BAA's Lucas Meyer in 15th, 14:18; 30 total runners broke 15:00.

In the women's race, New Balance Boston ace Rebecca Donaghue placed second. Mirroring the men's race, a group was together on the final. Begley made her decisive push at three miles to pull clear for the title (15:27). Donaghue held off Jen Rhines by one second in 15:30. Local connections were strong on the women's side, as after Donaghue, Providence residents Mary Cullen (Ireland, 15:48), Molly Huddle (15:52), and Amy Mortimer (16:05) were in the money at 5-7-9.

The 2009 USATF-NE annual meeting took time to review the year, look ahead, vote, and to honor several individuals on Thursday.

Marja Bakker

After opening with recognition of the Athlete of the Month winners, the business meeting followed. Individual and committee reports began the sessions. President Ken Robichaud then presented two "President's Awards" to a pair of deserving Daves. Dedicated track and field official Dave DeInnocentis of North Andover MA was the second ever recipient of the "Gerry Cantor Award" given for service to USATF-NE events. The Volunteer Award, renamed the "Marja Bakker Volunteer Award" by president Ken, was presented to past board member and all-around sport supporter Dave Dunham.

Elections for sports chairs and athlete representatives followed. There were exactly two nominations for the two vacant board positions, and with no further nominations, all positions were voted in by acclamation. Taking over the Youth Chair position is Larry Libow of Springfield and Y-Speed TC. The new athlete rep will be Caitlyn Clark of Sisu Project. A slate of 15 delegates was voted from 20 nominees.

A informative presentation on the D-tag timing system was made by Dave Camire of Yankee Timing, and the uncontroversial meeting closed with a discussion of the new selection process for the 2010 Grand Prix road race series.

The minutes will be posted on the Board page within a week.

The sixth race in the USATF-NE Grand Prix Series is coming right up this Sunday, September 20, at the Lone Gull 10K in Gloucester MA. The mostly oceanfront course has registration at Good Harbor Beach - carpooling is recommended - and entrants are at a record 700+ to date. See lonegull10.com. Current standings and Ironrunner lists are posted at the USATF-NE GP page.

The CVS Caremark Downtown 5K celebrates its 20th Anniversary on Sunday in downtown Providence. From elite down to recreational athletes, a record participation of up to 10,000 runners may take to the streets, starting and finishing in front of the Rhode Island State House.

. Rhode Island's largest road race will kick-off with 21 different races for children, pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, followed by the main 5K race that serves as the USA Championship, and concludes with a High School Inspirational 3K for student athletes.

Online registration closes on September 15, but late entry is available on site on Sunday from 7:00 to 10:45 a.m. Complete event information can be accessed at www.cvsdowntown5k.com.

Joseph Koech and Heather Cappello led the slosh through South Boston and took titles at Saturday's USATF-NE 5 Mile Championship at the Ollie 5 Mile. The 2009 edition was not able to dodge the precipitation as happened last year; instead, steady rains, some of it heavy and punctuated by one loud thunderclap preceded the starting horn and continued through the morning. Despite the precipitation, almost 800 of the 1200 entrants braved the weather and crossed the finish line.

Please Note: Incorrect cone placement at the Castle Island parking lot turnaround means the course was about 150 meters short. That should not diminish the competitiveness of the race, as fourth placer Mark Miller noted that it was the most competitive local race he had contested in several years. "A number of the leaders tried to make a move in the last 2 miles, and the others would cover each surge."

A spirited race developed at the lead (the top 21 finished within a minute), and round the final bend, Koech had the freshest legs, outlegging Pat Mellea, former BC runner visiting the area, and Justin Fyffe (CMS) who moved into the overall GP lead, each separated by half a stride. It was the second time this season Koech broke the tape as first for both overall and masters championships.

Women's winner Cappello had a more comfortable margin of 27 seconds over teammate Emily Kroshus, with new GP leader Jennifer Campbell in third. The BAA swept both open titles, With all five women's scorers in the top 11.

Mimi Fallon repeated as women's masters winner, 14th overall, with Cathy Merra notching her third straight 50-59 GP win this year, and Heidi MacDonald ahead among the 60+ runners. On the men's side, Craig Fram (Whirlaway, 50+) Bill Dixon (GLRR, 60+) and Jim Daley (CMS, 70+) took the honors.

Whirlaway won both the men's 40+ and 50+ team honors, with GCS Triad matching those wins on the women's side, and Cambridge Sports Union led the men's 60+ trios.

Two events remain in the 2009 series; the Lone Gull 10K in a week on Sunday, September 20, and the Bay State Marathon on Sunday, October 18; the latter is officially full, but entry is still open to USATF-NE members only. The latest standings are at the GP page and Ironrunners will be updated this week; Ironrunners should check that credit has been given for all races to ensure your jacket.

Many New England schools participate in the Footlocker championship qualifier each year. Note that, due to construction at historic Van Cortland Park, the 2009 Foot Locker Northeast Regional Championships will be moving east to Long Island's Sunken Meadow State Park. The challenging 5000 meter Sunken Meadow course has played host in the past to the New York State Federation Championships.

Auburn University in Alabama has named long time Providence resident and two time Olympian Mark Carroll as cross country head coach. The Providence College alum by way of Cork, Ireland, said he chose Auburn because he saw strong potential with the existing team, which has had success in the NCAA in recent years. With his own athletic career winding down, Carroll has moved in to coaching, having worked with cross country runners with the Athletic Association of Ireland.

His wife, Amy Rudolph, is also a two time Olympian (1996 and 2000). Both have been fixtures on the New England racing scene, and we wish them well in their move down south.

The Rhode Island 6 Hour has been selected to serve as the USATF-New England Ultra Running Championship for 2009. The race will take place in Warwick (RI) City Park.

Paul Kirsch, USATF-NE Mountain/Ultra/Trail Chair, noted that "We haven't had an ultra running championship event in the association for a few years, and this event will get us back on schedule. Future ultra championship events will vary distances from 50 kilometers to timed events such as the RI 6 Hour." The race is open to all, but racers must be USATF members to score in the championship. There will be a championship-only team division (distance covered by top 3 on a club) as well.

An ultra marathon is any event longer than a standard marathon. Placing in the 6 Hour is based on the total distance covered in the time period. The course is a paved, slightly rolling loop of 2.7 miles in Warwick City Park and is closed to traffic. Splits of Marathon, 50 K, and 50 Miles will be marked. There is also a (non-championship) relay being contested at the same time. Relay teams may consist of 2 to 6 runners with runners completing as many laps as they wish before handing off to a teammate.

For complete information on the event, go to ri6hour.com.

The Annual Meeting of the USATF New England association will take place on Thursday, September 17 at the Double Tree Guest Suites Hotel, 550 Winter Street, Waltham MA, at I-95 Exit 27-B. The meeting will begin with the past year's Athlete of the Month Awards at 6:30 p.m., followed by the business meeting at 7:15 p.m.

Elections this year are limited to sports chairs and athlete reps, both for one year terms. Anyone interested in running for these spots can contact the office to put a name in nomination. Delegates to the national meeting will also be selected.

The meeting will present a year in review, will discuss the new procedures for selecting Road Race Grand Prix events for 2010, and there will be a guest speaker.

All USATF-NE members as of August 1 who age 18+ are eligible to attend and vote. We hope all clubs will have at least one representative at the meeting. The agenda can be found at USATF-NE board page.

The World Track and Field Championships closed its 9 day run in Berlin on Sunday. Weekend action found several locals in the thick of the action.
Sean Furey placed 12th in the javelin, the only US athlete to make the final. Furey noted, "I don't think I was too scared or nervous with the situation. I didn't feel sharp", but that might be expected in one's first time on the world stage. His best throw in the final was 244'5" after a 260'1" personal best in qualifying.

Nate Jenkins placed 63rd, not his best by any means, but he importantly finished to give the USA a scoring team of three after one team member did not take to the start due to injury and one did not finish. "I started at 3:05 at the kilometer, and actually felt good through 10-12k, then started having some hamstring problems, which has been par for the course for me", said Jenkins. "I was slowed down, but still rolling along until 32 k, and thinking I can run 2:20, then the wheels just came off. I knew I had to finish, since we only lined up four athletes, so it was one foot in front of the other."

Four time Boston Marathon champ Robert Cheruiyot was fifth, top American was Dan Browne in 24th (2:16:49), and former Providence College runner Dylan Wykes running for Canada was 33rd (2:18:00); 21 of 91 entrants did not finish the race.

The USA won 10 gold medals and 22 medals total, and one American Record was set (100 meters, Tyson Gay, 9.71). There were many other superlatives from the meet. For summaries, stories, and pictures on a day by day basis, go to runblogrun.com and check usatf.org for Team USA news and notes.

MIT Pole Vault Club men and New England PV Club women won the inaugural edition of the New England Team Pole Vault competition on a steamy Saturday at MIT. The novel meet scored a club's two vaulters' total height to get a placing. with MITPVC totaling 27'3" and NEPV 19'6". Highest individual heights were cleared by Nate Ball (MITPV) at 15'0", and NEPV teammates Stephanie Brown and Hannah McPhee, both at 9'9".

Full results at the checking the MIT Pole Vault Club site.

Mike Griffin (SISU Project) and Kasie Enman (BAA) took the wins at the GMAA Scholarship Race in South Burlington VT on Saturday, the first race in the 2009 USATF-NE Cross Country Grand Prix. The six race series continues at the Thomas Chamberas 6K at Great Brook in Carlisle MA on Saturday, August 29. Find standings and results at See www.nexcgrandprix.org.

Molly Huddle (Providence RI / Saucony) won the USA 10 Mile Road Race title at the 33rd annual Crim 10 Mile in Flint Michigan on Saturday. Her time of 54:01 placed her fifth overall in a close race that found Alemitu Albera (Ethiopia) winning in 53:49. Huddle, who also won the US 7 Mile Championship in the past month, was one place and 11 seconds up on Magdalena Boulet for the US title as only 3 Americans placed in the stellar field's top 10. The race drew a record 15,000 entrants.

Former Methuen MA and Dartmouth competitor Sean Furey qualified for the finals in the Javelin today at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Track and Field.
Furey threw a season's best of 260 feet 1 inch, good for 11th in Sunday's 12 man final.
Earlier in the week, GBTC's Samir Layne (Haiti) was 15th in the triple jump in a respectable 53'7 1/2'. Former Providence College ace Kim Smith, often back here training took 8th in the 10,000 at 31:21.42, while her teammate at PC, Martin Fagan (Ireland) did not start the men's 10,000 due to injury.

Lowell's Nate Jenkins will toe the line in Saturday's marathon (with Boston Marathon third placer Kara Goucher running Sunday).

Live and on-demand event coverage can be found on universalsports.com. It's free and simply unmatched in the quality of the coverage from individual events to daily summaries.

The 12th IAAF World Championships in Track and Field begins its nine day schedule on August 15 in Berlin Germany with several New England athletes competing on the big stage.

Lowell's Nate Jenkins is on the 5 runner marathon squad and former Methuen MA HS and Dartmouth record setter (and past GBTC member) Sean Furey - will compete in the javelin. (See Dartmouth story on Sean). Jake Freeman (Westbury NY via E.Greenwich RI and Bishop Hendricken HS) was top 3 at the USA Championships and hit the A standard in the hammer, as did Marblehead MA native Shalene Flanagan in the 10,000 meters. GBTC's Samir Layne will represent Haiti in the triple jump. Other locals may be representing their home countries as well.

Lots of media coverage with weekend shows on NBC, weekday television on theVersus network and webcasts on universalsports.com. Here's the broadcast schedule.

And, there is more info than you can handle at IAAF.org.

Seventeen New England youth earned top 8 placings and the accompanying medals at last week's USATF Junior Olympic National Championships n Greensboro, North Carolina. Over six thousand entrants contested a full schedule of events in five age divisions (Bantam 10 & under, Midget 11-12, Youth 13-14, Intermediate 15-16, Young Men/Women 17-18). Age is based at the end of the year.

Highest placing was achieved by Carla Forbes of the Waltham Track Club. Setting a new national championship meet record in the Youth division, the 14 year old won the triple jump with a bound of 38'9 3/4" on Sunday. She prefaced that with a third place in the long jump at 18'1" on Saturday.

The most New England successes came in the javelin where four locals picked up medals; third places were secured by Waltham TC teammates Emma Fitzgerald (Midget) and TJ Noonan (Youth) along with Lucas Haddon (Waitsfield VT, Young Men), with Katie Cataldo (Attleboro MA) placing eighth (Intermediate)

In the field, the top mark beyond the javelin was a third in the hammer by Wakefield RI thrower Mike Gama (Young Men). Becca Parascandola (Londonderry NH) and Kelly McCabe (Mansfield MA) endured heat and humidity to place 6-8 in the heptathlon. Karla Ganley (Air Time Athletics, Intermediate) soared to sixth in the pole vault, and taking podium positions with their seventh place finishes were Haley Laird (Southboro MA, Intermediate, high jump), Jaynah Jimenez (Waltham TC, Midget, long jump) and Christopher Perry (Providence Cobras, Young Men, triple jump).

On the track, medals were earned by Emily Stark (Concord MA, 3000, fifth, Youth), John Henry Fitzgerald (Waltham TC, Youth, 3000 Walk, sixth, Youth), and eighth placers Jarrell Forbes (Providence Cobras, 400 hurdles, Young Men), Maddy Berkson (Providence Cobras, 1500, Youth) and Tim Cox (Team RUN, 1500, Youth).

Complete results by event are at the USATF Junior Olympic Web page. They're worth checking out to note the high quality of youth track and field around the country.

John Henry Fitzgerald displays his national medal
(Photo: Waltham TC)

The USATF Junior Olympic National Championships begins its 6 day run in Greensboro, North Carolina with nearly 6000 young athletes in five age groups for boys and girls vying for top places as they end their seasons.

With the meet on the east coast, a large number of local youth will be competing over the six days. Leading off what should be good representation were a pair of medallists on the opening day. Mike Gama (Wakefield RI) took the bronze medal in the Young Men's hammer throw at 200'4" and John Henry Fitzgerald (Waltham TC/Wayland MA) finished 6th in the Youth Boys 3000 walk.

Follow daily results at the USATF Junior Olympic Web page.

If you are on Facebook, come join the USA Track & Field New England Association group at http://groups.to/usatfne/.

You can share ideas, discuss issues, post your own photos and videos and more with other USATF-NE members.

Not signed up for Facebook yet? No problem. Anyone can join. Just visit http://www.facebook.com/

This weekend's Level I Coaching School at Governors Academy is ready to roll, with a quality faculty set for the 2 1/2 days of instruction.
Please note that the school is FULL at this time, so no additional walk-up registrants will be accepted.

Sessions run on Friday 3 p.m.-9 p.m., Saturday 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m., and Sunday 8:00 a.m. - 2 p.m. Attendees must be at all sessions.

No records at this year's USATF-NE Masters Championships this year, just solid performances on a warm sunny day. The new Cranston West HS facility proved to be an amicable site for the event, and the association will return there for some events in the future.

Numbers were a bit small, as the meet was sandwiched on the schedule between last week's USA Masters meet and next week's World Masters in Finland.

Full results at the track page.

GBTC women - National Club Championships winners
Photo by Mike Scott

Capitalizing on their field event strength, Greater Boston TC won the women's division in the USATF National Club Track and Field Championships held at Icahn Stadium in New York City. It was the women's third win in the meet's nine year history.

GBTC outscored arch-rivals and host club Nike Central Park TC by a mere 4 points, 159-155 with sprint power Norfolk Real Deal TC third in 105. The win made the pre-planned post-event Manhattan cupcake shop tour sweet in two ways.

The GBTC men placed fourth with 75 points as Shore AC of New Jersey piled up a 199 points, giving a massive 111 point gap over Connecticut's ConnQuest which garnered 88. That winning margin by Shore allowed them to take the combined team score with 246, as the NE team in red tallied a respectable 234 for second.

Individual winners from the New England association included three GBTC women; double gold medalist Joeane Jadotte (shot and discus), meet record setter Ayanna Alexander (triple jump - 45'8") and Jen Harlow (high jump). On the men's side, Samyr Laine (GBTC) took the triple jump and matched his teammate's feat of a meet record - 54'10.25" - and Ari Zamir (new balance Boston) won the 5000. Overall, 8 meet records were set.

Other NE teams scoring points on the men's side were New Balance Boston (14, 12th place) and New Hampshire Tracksters (7, 22nd place); no other local women's teams scored.

Check the full results at www.usatf.org.

Registration for the October 2009 BAA Half Marathon opens this Wednesday, July 15, at 9:00 a.m. Registration is on-line only, and is expected to fill quickly - within several days and likely sooner as many major races are doing.

Go to baa.org for details.

The Level I Coaching School set for July 24-26 at Governors Academy in Byfield MA is FULL and no further applications are being accepted. While a waiting list is being compiled, the chances of taking more applications is slim. We hope to host another school in the summer of 2010 or 2011.

Jim Johnson and Kasie Enman were first up the hill on Sunday at the Loon Mountain Run up in Lincoln NH. Good weather greeted the 200-plus at the summit and provided great views on the gondola ride down.

Johnson (Salem NH/CMS) scaled the dirt and grass in 48:25, with Abdeltif Faker (Malden MA) Patrick Ard (Raymond NH / Whirlaway) barely thirty seconds back. The women's race was a one runner show, as Enman clocked 53:17, almost 9 minutes up on Lynne Zummo (WMM), and good for 13th overall. The 10+ kilometers averages a 10% grade and includes 2887 feet of climb and 1113 feet of descent.

Just one event remains in the 2009 USATF-NE Mountain Circuit, this Sunday's journey to Vermont and Mt.Ascutney. Todd Callaghan (GCS) and Dawn Roberts (GSH) top the individual series standings, with masters leaders Dave Dunham and Karen Encarnacion solidly ensconced second overall. The rankings as of Loon can be found at coolrunning.com

Three days of competition by over 1000 entrants from ages 8-18 ran successfully at Fitchburg State College last weekend at the USATF Region I Junior Olympic Championship meet. The New England association hosts this meet in a rotation once every five years with five other associations from the rest of the New England states and the eastern half of New York.

The meet avoided severe weather - heavy downpours and some thunder rolled in on Saturday moments after the conclusion of the day's final event, and mist was the worst of the other two days. Thanks to the many officials and the Fitchburg State College staff for their tireless work.

The top 3 individuals and relays may advance to the National meet in North Carolina at the end of July, and a number of local youth made the standard. The preliminary results are posted on coolrunning.com with final updates after corrections and updates will be posted on CR and at www.usatfne.org/track/ on Wednesday.

Almost 500 youth age 18 and under took part at the USATF New England Junior Olympic Championship meet at friendly Fitchburg State College on Saturday, vying for qualifying spots for the Region I. Rain held off, and the meet ran efficiently, as the top 6 individuals and top 3 relays were eligible to advance to the Regionals next weekend, also at Fitchburg, where 5 other associations from New England and New York will also be contesting spots at Nationals. Results of the New England Junior Olympic Championship meet are available on the track page.

Light rain, wind, and raw conditions kept numbers down and performances modest at the USATF-NE Open Championships at MIT on Sunday. Greater Boston TC swept the men's and women's team titles for the umpteenth year, with New Balance Boston second in both divisions. Results are available at www.usatfne.org/track

Due to facility restrictions, we cannot hold the discus at the USATF New England Open Championship meet at MIT on Sunday, June 21. All other scheduled events will be held. For an entry form and schedule, go the usatfne.org/track/.

Lots of track activity this weekend as the USATF New England Junior Olympic Championship meet for youth age 18 and under runs Saturday, June 20 at Fitchburg State College, and the USATF-NE Open Championship takes place on Sunday at M.I.T. in Cambridge.

Both meets will run rain or shine!. There are no alternate dates due to scheduling and facility availability. We are busy setting up the meets so please do not call the office.

Entries will be accepted on meet day, with a late fee. See www.usatfne.org/track/ for the entry forms. The JO meet qualifies for the Region I meet at Fitchburg June 27-28.

The USATF-NE mountain circuit hit the halfway mark on Saturday at the Northfield Mountain Race / NE Trail Running Championship. Pacing the fields over the 10.5 mile up-and-down course with 1200' of climb were Josh Ferenc (BAA/Keene NH) and Abby Mahoney (CMS); Ferenc had almost a half minute over Justin Fyffe of CMS (whose runners took 8 of the top 10 places) and Mahoney's gap was over 2 minutes on orienteering ace Samantha Saeger.

It was one of the more pleasant days in the race's history with low humidity, a smattering of sun, and relatively good footing most of the way. Among the 216 finishers (2nd largest ever) were two age groups records, Eric Morse (M40) and Lisa Doucett (W50).

Providence senior Danette Doetzel won the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Track & Field Championships held in Fayetteville Arkansas last weekend. The senior capped her career with the gold in 33:25.71, winning by 14 seconds. Two NE athletes scored in the high jump, with Carin Knight of U. Conn 4th at 6'0", and Harvard's Becky Christiansen clearing the same height but with more misses for 5th. Also earning All-American honors were Boston University's Tahari James who bounced 43'7" for 7th in the triple jump, and Rhode Island's Jasmin Jennings, spinning the hammer 197'4" for 8th .

On the men's side, a pair of Ivy Leaguers brought home awards, as sophomore Craig Kinsley of Brown boomed his opening throw 240'6" for third in the javelin, and Harvard freshman Nico Weiler soared 17'6.5" for 6th in the pole vault.

Start of Rhody 5K Road Race
Photo Courtesy Tom Derderian

Boston Athletic Association runners Luke Meyer and Mariko Holbrook won New England titles and led the BAA to double wins at the 10th annual Rhody 5K / USATF-NE Championship on Sunday. Nearly 800 runners (up from last year) attacked the separate men's and women's races on the truly flat and fast course around the Twin River complex in Lincoln. Warm and sunny - but not extreme - conditions helped 35 men under 16:00 and 19 women to 19:00 or better.

Matched in stride by last month's 12K winner Joseph Koech (RUN) for over a mile, Meyer, a former Yale all-American moved to a 13 second margin in the next two miles, hitting the tape on the greyhound oval at 14:33. The BAA blue, always strong at this distance, placed their five scorers at 9th or better. Holbrook, clocking some strong times through the spring, took the women's championship (second overall behind BU grad Marissa Ryan) in 17:25, 22 seconds ahead of Tamie Robie.

Koech placed second and took his second straight masters title, matched by Craig Fram (Whirlaway) and Cathy Merra (GCS Triad) in their 50+ divisions. Other division winners were Mark Wigler (NMC 60+); Jim Daley (CMS, 70+) for men, and Sim Piergentili (Whirlaway, 40+, her third win in 2009) and Linda Usher (CMS, 60+).

Besides the BAA club daily double, Whirlaway left the facility with three age division wins - W40+, M40+, M50+. Remaining trophies went to CMS women at 50+ and North Medford Club men at 60+. Greater Boston TC now tops both the open men's and women's rankings.

Runners chowed down on the GP circuit's most generous post-race feed. Standings are posted at www.usatfne.org/gp, with race results at coolrunning.com.

The series goes into a summer hibernation, resuming at the Ollie 5 Mile on Saturday, September 12 (note the date).

Event four in the 2009 road running Grand Prix rolls into Lincoln RI on Sunday as the 5K returns to the Rhody 5K at Twin River in Lincoln RI. Separate men's and women's races at 9:30 and 10:00 a.m. are featured on the pancake flat course that finishes on the track. The largest post-event barbeque on the circuit follows the run.

On-line entry is now closed; enter on race day at Twin River. Info is at rhody5k.com.

Remember - all team scorers and prize money winners must have 2009 USATF membership.

Bill Rogers celebrates National Running Day. Photo Courtesy B.A.A.

Bill Rogers celebrates National Running Day
Photo Courtesy of the B.A.A.

Bill Rodgers and the Boston Athletic Association joined USATF-NE at the June 3 Mini-Meet at MIT for a group run to give support to the first National Running Day. A good time was had by all as "Boston Bill" spent nearly 2 hours talking running with the attendees, and the BAA supported the day's competition. We appreciate their support!

The Track and field schedule has been updated, and the entry for the USATF-NE Open Outdoor Championships is now available at usatfne.org/track.

It's been unusually difficult to obtain use of track and field facilities for some of our events this summer. We have finally secured a site for the NE Masters Championships - Cranston West HS in Cranston RI on Sunday, July 19. Most events will be contested including all 4 throws. There will be no steeplechase or 400 hurdles (we will run 300 hurdles for all ages). Entry will be at usatfne.org/track by June 5.

The USATF New England Association will host a USATF Level I coaching school. The school will be held Friday afternoon July 24 through Sunday afternoon July 26 at Governors' Academy in Byfield (Newbury) MA> The curriculum, covered in 21 hours over 2 1/2 days, is a good introduction to coaching the sport as a whole. It's particularly useful to youth club coaches, club track coaches, and high school coaches. It is also a pre-requisite to attending the specialized Level II schools.

A description of Level I and the registration material - all online - is at usatf.org/groups/Coaches/education/. Sign up early as the school will be limited to 125

After a strong spring season with wins at Amherst and New Bedford, Heidi Westerling (BAA/Acworth NH) led the women in the 2009 KeyBank Vermont City Marathon on Sunday. Just over a month beyond her creditable time and 14th place finish at the Boston Marathon, Westerling finished 9th overall in 2:35:02, over 3 minutes better than the previous women's mark set by Gordon Bakoulis in 1995 - and 21 minutes up on the second place female finisher. It was her third win at the Green Mountain classic.

The men's race was won by John Crews of Raleigh NC in 2:19:31, with the Moulton brothers, Pat and Casey, top New Englanders in third and fourth.

Led by Ryan Carrara, a near record field headed up the first mountain at the traditional opener of the USATF-NE Mountain Circuit, the Wachusett Mountain run. Construction on the paved route up the hill forced the traditional course to the summit to become an up-and-down combination road/trail course.

Carrara (New Balance Boston/Hudson MA) took the measure of Kevin Tilton (CMS/N.Conway NH) by just 4 seconds over the five-plus miles (30:44). In the women's contest, just one place and eight seconds separated winner Adrienne Shields (38:20, Brighton MA) from Abby Mahoney (CMS/Holyoke MA). The 335 mountain goats were supported by the Central Mass Striders.

Results are at coolrunning.com. The circuit continues at the all-road Pack Monadnock Run on May 31. See info at usatfne.org/trail. Scoring after one event is at Coolrunning. Scorers and circuit-long "mountain goats" who hope to gain a waiver into the 2010 Mt.Washington Road Race must have 2009 USATF membership.

Three collegians won NCAA Divsion 3 Collegiate titles at the D3 Championships in Marietta Ohio last weekend. Stephen Headley, a junior at Springfield College won the 100 in 10.51 (and took 3rd in the 200); sophomore Bryan Kolacz of Keene State (NH) won the hammer in 201'8"; and Lauren Philbrook, a senior from Williams College, led the 10,000 in 35:24.78. Williams brought home seven all-American honors, and M.I.T. returned with six.

Joseph Koech and Kim Duclos were the tape breakers in the 35th Bedford Rotary 12K, the third stop in the 2009 USATF-NE Road Race Grand Prix; 480 crossed the finish line in the championship, with another 211 in the accompanying 5K. The course was essentially the same as previous editions of the championship contested in the town.

An elite level open runner several years ago, Kenyan Koech has settled in Melrose MA, and led from early in the race to set a course record of 37:50 on the 2 year old course that ran out of the Bedford High School with a finish on the track. The Team RUN ace had 24 seconds on the improving Dan Vassallo of adidas New England.

Duclos (Central Mass Striders) similarly led for most of the race and set a new circuit standard of 42:31, 2:29 up on silver medalist Jennifer Campbell (Cambridge RC).

Koech was also top masters finisher ahead of teammate Titus Mutindi, who still leads the M40 scoring. Craig Fram (Whirlaway) turned 50 since the last GP race, and was over a minute ahead of John Barbour, while Gordon McFarland (CSU) took his second 60+ division championship in a row. Tara Cardi (Reebok RR-Providence) led a strong masters field - 4 in the top 10 results - with a fourth overall placing. Among the 50+ women, Cathy Merra followed her 4th place in the Boston Marathon last month with a division win, and Patty Foltz added to her series lead with a 60+ age group win.

A strong team effort by the upstart adidas New England (originally christened as Go the Distance over the winter) gave them 3 minutes over Whirlaway for men's honors, but the WRT masters took both 40+ and 50+ team trophies and leads those divisions after 3 races. Cambridge Sports Union were first in the 60+ group. Central Mass Striders outlegged Greater Boston on the women's side as the two squads are 1-2 on the series scoreboard as well, with Whirlaway 40+ women matching their male counterparts in both individual and GP total placings, and GCS Triad earning their first 50+ team win.

Team scores are posted at www.usatfne.org/gp, with race results at coolrunning.com. Next on the GP schedule is the 5K which returns to the Twin Rivers course in Lincoln RI on Sunday, June 6.

USA Track & Field today announced Team USA men's marathon squad for this summer's IAAF World Championships in Athletics, with Lowell's Nate Jenkins one of five marathoners who will toe the line for the USA. The Worlds will be held in Berlin, Germany, August 15 - 23 with the men's marathon running on August 22.

Jenkins (GLRR/Saucony), along with 2004 Olympian Dan Browne qualified based on their performances at the Olympic Trials Marathon in New York in November 2007, Nate in 8th at 2:14:56 and Browne in 6th at 2:13:23. Rounding out the team are Justin Young (CO), based on his 2:13:54 at the 2008 Rotterdam Marathon, and Fernando Cabada (CO) and Matt Gabrielson (MN) from their 1-2 finishes at the 2008 USA Marathon Championships in Minneapolis.

The women's marathon team, with no New Englanders, was announced earlier this week; the track and field team will be selected at the USA Championships June 25-28 in Oregon.

The road running Grand Prix heats back up on Saturday with the year's third event, the 35th annual Bedford Rotary 12K in Bedford New Hampshire. The race begins at 9:00 a.m. and the site this year is the Bedford HS, about a mile from the prior race headquarters.

On-line entry is now closed; only entry on race day at Bedford HS. Find details at Bedford Rotary website.

Remember that all team members must have current USATF membership to score for the club.

Meet information and entry form for the June 20 USATF-New England Junior Olympic TF Championship at Fitchburg State College is posted on the USATF-NE JO pages

The meet qualifies for the Region I meet June 27-28, also at Fitchburg State, so we expect large numbers to participate. There are a number of other youth meets on the schedule, including the MIT mini-meets May 20, 27, and June 3, and a series of events hosted by the Amherst (NH) Track Club and , the 35th annual Bedford Rotary 12K in Bedford New Hampshire. The race begins at 9:00 a.m. and the site this year is the Bedford HS (see Amherst TC website.)

USATF reminds Masters athletes that the early entry deadline for all USA entries for the World Masters Championships in Lahti, Finland is Friday, May 15th in order for entries to be processed and sent to Finland. Entry forms and other athlete and travel information can be found on our website at the USATF Website.

The USATF-NE Mountain Running circuit gets started in just under three weeks at the 17th Mt.Wachusett Road Race; there are a few changes to the popular series.

- There are course changes this year at Wachusett. Due to road construction this year, it will be a half trail/half road race, and go up-and-down with a distance of 5.25 miles. The start on Mile Hill Road remains the same, but it then diverges to include hiking and ski trails, totaling about 3 miles up and 2 miles down.

- Ascutney will also be a half road, half trail instead of all trail

- Cranmore, as the USA Mountain Championships, finds runners from 16 states already confirmed including 17 former members of US Mountain Running Team. Course photos & map have been posted at www.whitemountainmilers.com/cranmore

Ricardo Jaquite - Boston's Madison Park HS
(Photo: John Nepolitan/www.dyestatmetro.com)

The country's oldest and largest relay meet, the 115 year old Penn Relays is more than a track meet; it's a rite-of-spring festival with HS, Collegiate, and Open competitors part of the carnival. Three days of events covering the entire TF schedule gives a sense of how big track and field is beyond the state boundaries in the northeast, as 271 boys 4x100 relay teams took to the track in one afternoon. From that last 4x100 team up to the USA vs the World relays featuring international stars, it is track and field to the max.

Ricard Jaquite (Madison Park, Boston) became a rare scholastic winner from our region at Penn, taking highest honors the hgh school triple jump. His final attempt, spanning 49'1.5" won by just 1/2 inch, and the student by way of Portugal becomes one of the best bouncers ever from the New England.

In the Olympic Development (OD) / open events, BAA runners secured two victories; Lucas Meyer won the 5000 in 14:07.96 (with Harry Norton of North Andover third in 14:11.40) and Mariko Holbrook was the 10,000 winner in 34:40.05. Olympian Joanne Dow (Manchester NH) won the 5000 meter walk 23:17.33 setting a new masters W45 American Record. Rounding out the gold medalists, Jasmine Jennings (Rhode Island) won University divsion hammer throw at 190'3".

Also making the podium were Emily Jones (Harvard MA), second in the scholastic 3000 at 9:32.22; Eric Aish of (Boston), second in the OD steeplechase with 8:56.06; Drew Soltysiak (Gr.Boston TC) third in the javelin with 213'3"; and Providence College men, third in the 4 x mile relay in 16:22.95. In masters relay events, the Mass Velocity sprint relay crew had two medal performances, 2nd in the M60+ 4x100 (51.79) and 3rd in the M50+ 4x400 (3:50.18).

Among the records set was the scholastic 4x800 where Albemarle of Virginia, who set a new indoor standard at the Nike Indoor Nationals at the Reggie Lewis Center in March, beat Morris Hills NJ. Both teams smashed the old mark with Albemarle in front in a stunning 7:30.67. It was the second time the 4x8 HS record was set at Penn; 88 years ago, Cedar Rapids IA booked a mark of 8:25.4, almost 50 seconds slower!

Full results can be reviewed at pennrelaysonline.com

One second seperated Kosgei and Tune at the finish of the 2009 Boston Marathon.

Kenya's Salina Kosgei won the closest women's race in the 113-year history of the Boston Marathon. Dire Tune (the 2008 Boston champion from Ethiopia) crossed the finish line one second later.
Photo: Victah Sailor

Ethiopia's Deriba Merga won the men's 2009 Boston Marathon.
Photo: Victah Sailor

Eric Blake and Sherry Piers were top New England finishers in Monday's B.A.A. Boston Marathon. Nearly 23,000 finished the journey from Hopkinton to Boston, the ideal temperatures cancelled out by the almost constant headwind. Winner Deriba Merga, 4th place finisher at the Beijing Olympics, moved out of the 12-strong pack with two others on the downhill into Newton Lower Falls, and hammered off his final challenger up the Braeburn Hill after the firehouse turn. The Ethiopian's win was just the second non-Kenyan gold in 18 years.

After winning the closest finish in race history in 2008 Ethiopian Dire Tune was on the other end of a finish kick on Monday as Kenyan Salona Kosgei used her old track speed to win the kick and cut the closest ever finish gap to just one second.

American runners Ryan Hall and Kara Goucher, honest contenders for the win, each took third place in their races; it was the first time since 1985 that Americans had a top 3 finish in both men's and women's races. Hall forced the early pace and was still aggressive after the break, while Goucher lead in the later stages and only seeing a gap before the final turn onto Boylston Street.

South African Ernst Van Dyk scored a record eighth Boston win in the men's wheelchair race.

Blake (BAA/New Britain CT) repeated his honor of first from the six state region, finishing 24th in 2:23:54. Piers (Falmouth ME) had negative splits and recorded an 11th place finish, 14 seconds from cracking the top 10 with her 2:37:04 that dropped her personal best from last year's Olympic Trials on a day where PB's were uncommon. The host B.A.A. was women's open team winner with Somerville Road Runners a surprising second. The B.A.A.'s male counterparts were third and top from NE behind Hansons-Brooks Distance Project whose 3 scorers were in at 2:18 or better.

Sim Piergentili (Whirlaway/Wilmington MA) placed 40th in 2:54:48 for top NE master and eighth overall, while Robert Landry (Gr.Springfield Harriers/Ludlow MA), at 2:36:46, led NE men 40+. Whirlaway Racing Team was best among local masters, second team of women 40+ and fourth men 40+.

Marathon results in many forms for every participant, state, and team, are at www.baa.org.

B.A.A. racing action started on Sunday this year, as Jarrod Shoemaker and Maria Varela went into the history books as winners of the inaugural B.A.A. 5K which ended at the Boston Marathon finish line. Shoemaker, a 2008 Olympic triathlete from Maynard, Mass., won in 14:29, while Varela, from Brighton, Mass., won on the women's side in 17:37. They led a field of nearly 4,000 runners, with included six past champions including Joan Samuelson, Amby Burfoot (1968), Greg Meyer (1983), Ingrid Kristiansen (1986, 1989); Neil Cusack (1974); and Lorraine Moller (1984).

A pair of close finishes marked the debut of the professional B.A.A. Invitational Mile. Darren Brown of Austin, Texas, won the men's mile in 4:11.6, taking the lead with about 250 meters remaining on the three-loop course before breaking the tape at the Boston Marathon finish line. On the women's side, Anna Willard of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., ran on the shoulder of Marblehead native Shalane Flanagan before surging past with 200 meters to go for a 4:38.6 win.

Scholastic athletes from the eight host cities and towns along the Boston Marathon course squared off in the first invitational miles of the day. The girls race found Newton teammates Margo Gillis (5:10.6) and Carolyn Ranti (5:14.1) ahead of Rebecca White of Natick (5:17.4). The boys' race pack only broke up in the final 200 meters with Ryan Hardiman of Brookline finishing in front in 4:37.3, followed by Daniel Hamilton of Newton (4:38.0) and Omar Abdi of the Boston (4:39.2). Two runner team titles based on total time were Boston (men) and Newton (women).

Four time champion Robert Cheruiyot and women's defending champ Dire Tune will lead the international elite field and over 25,000 other runners down Route 135 and out of Hopkinton on Monday morning in the 113th Boston Marathon. One of the five "World Marathon Majors", Boston boasts a strong field of challenges including top Americans Ryan Hall (CA) and Kara Goucher (OR) who look to become the first American victor in 25 years.

Further back in the pack, legendary Bill Rodgers, former American record holder, will run to mark the 30th anniversary of his 1979 victory in Boston.

The B.A.A. has once again partnered with WBZ-TV Channel 4 in Boston to help provide viewers in the local market with the most comprehensive coverage of the American road race. WBZ-TV enters its third decade as a Boston Marathon broadcaster and will stream live coverage to New England viewers on its website www.wbztv.com. Two webcams will stream uninterrupted coverage from the finish line and on 'Heartbreak Hill' for regional viewers, while archived footage will be available to all viewers 24 hours after the conclusion of the race. For the first time, WBZ-TV will use the popular social networking site Twitter to blog live race-day updates on Marathon Monday.

National and global fans are offered a complete viewing of this year's Marathon with cable and on-line broadcast by Universal Sports (www.universalsports.com). WBZ-TV will begin live coverage at 8 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. and Universal Sports' will begin at 9:00 a.m. until 12:30.

It's that time of year again - the excitement of race week is a-buzz throughout the greater Boston area as the 113th Boston Marathon nears. "Opening Ceremonies" were held Thursday evening with a hearty "Cheers to the Boston Marathon" at the Bull and Finch Pub. Before the ceremonial lighting of the BAA lamp, the Patriot Award for service to community was presented to the affable duo of Eddie Doyle and Tommy Leonard, long time bartenders at Cheers and the Eliot, who have supported the marathon and many fund raising activities over the years. There was also recognition of adidas celebrating 20 years of race sponsorship in 2009. It was also announced that the race's sponsorship agreement with adidas has been extended through 2021.

The rest of the weekend includes a flurry of events that begin on Friday with the John Hancock Sports & Fitness Expo at the Hynes Convention Center (through Sunday at 6 p.m.). Mid-day Saturday will find hundreds of youths competing in a variety of relay races in the finish line area.

On Sunday morning, a number of past champions will be in the field for the first - and sold out at 4000 entrants - B.A.A. 5K through Boston's Back Bay. Immediately following at 9:30 a.m., the B.A.A. Invitational Miles will follow a three-loop course that end at the Boston Marathon finish line. There are a pair of scholastic miles with top boys and girls representing the eight cities and towns along the Boston Marathon course. The morning will conclude with the elite pro miles, featuring six Olympians and other USA National champions including Marblehead native Shalane Flanagan, and spring USATF-NE GP leader Pat Tarpy of Providence.

Additional information about the B.A.A. Invitational Mile, the B.A.A. 5K, and the Boston Marathon can be found online at www.baa.org.

Though the weather hasn't been entirely cooperative, colleges and high schools are several weeks into the outdoor track and field season. The current outdoor schedule for New England and regional/national events is posted at the track and field page, usatfne.org/track/outdoors.

It will be updated regularly as events and dates are added or modified.

Rebecca Donaghue (New Balance Boston) ran to 36th place - and third American - at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Amman, Jordan, on Saturday. Team USA was fifth in the women's race, won by Kenya with an amazing 14 points (1-2-4-7). The 3 loop 6K course competitors met with was described in one IAAF press release as a "sometimes violently undulating route through the countryside, their shoes traversing an ever changing surface of sand, gravel and grass." A strong wind, evident at the course's uphill finish, added to the challenge.

"I got a good start, but I had a bit of trouble breathing once the race got underway," noted Donaghue. "My legs felt pretty heavy, especially going up that last hill. I've never felt that bad finishing up the hill".

"I think competing against international fields helps make you tougher. I am so proud to represent the United States and wear the uniform."

Former Harvard runner Lindsey Scherf, finishing her eligibility at graduate school in Oregon, also represented the US, placing 75th. The US Junior Women and Junior Men also placed fifth as teams, with the Senior Men eighth in their uber-competitive races; Kenya (3 wins) and Ethiopia (1 win) took the first two places in each competition with two divisions going to tie-breakers. Results, stories, and photos can be found at iaaf.org.

The USA Masters National Indoor Track and Field championships headed south to Landover Maryland and the Prince Georges County Athletic Complex last weekend, where local competitors earned a share of top medals over the three days of action.

Winning a pair of golds each in the meet's largest field of entries every (over 900) were Craig Fram (M50-54m, Plaistow NH) in the Mile / 3000m, Dennis Melanson (M75-79, Westwood,MA) in the 60 / 200, Mary Harada (W70-74, Newbury MA) in the Mile / 3000m, and Barbara Jordan (W70-74, Burlington VT) in the 60 and 200m. James Morton (M50, Springfield MA, 800m) and Stephen Peckiconis (M50, Roslindale MA, 3000m race walk) also raced to gold.

Mass Velocity Track Club finished 6th overall in the team standings. It was only the second time in twelve years the meet has not been held in Boston; it will return to Boston for one more year in 2010. Full results - but still being corrected - are at usatf.org.

Washington DC - Boston Athletic Association runners Pat Moulton and Jeannette Seckinger ran to wins in the 4th Annual SunTrust National Marathon in Washington DC on Saturday. Both came from behind to take the top spot.

Moulton, not feeling really great, fell off the pace twice, but battled back to pass early leaders including three time champ Michael Wardian to win by over a minute in a course record 2:21:18. Seckinger did not reach the lead until the final 400 meters and clocked a big personal best time of 2:48:39 and won by just 5 seconds. Topping off the local connections in DC, Rhode Island's David Principe won the masters crown in 2:47:17.

Lexington-based Saucony, Inc. is offering runners and residents a temporary solution to the unavoidable "pit stop" dilemma during the current Boston Marathon training season: a portable toilet service for one month along this highly traveled section of the marathon course.

"As we enter the final weeks of training for Boston, there's a major increase in runners training along the Newton hills, especially on the weekends," said Sharon Barbano, Saucony vice president of public relations, and a former Boston Marathon runner herself. "On those long runs, nature often calls and this stretch of road offers no place for impromptu relief, except the bushes and gardens on or near private homes. We hope this pit stop offers a practical solution for both the runners and the neighborhood during the final weeks of Boston training".

The Saucony porta-john is located away from any private homes, near the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Walnut Street, just west of the Johnny Kelley statue along the access road. It will be serviced regularly. Removal of the unit is set for April 13th, when long training runs are completed and runners are resting up for the 113th running of the Boston Marathon on April 20th.

In addition to the excellent athletic performances produced at last weekend's Nike Indoor Nationals, a pair of local administrators were recognized by the National Scholastic Sports Foundation (NSSF) for their excellence in support of the sport.

Larry Martin (Londonderry NH) was honored with the NSSF Mike Byrnes Coach of the Year award. After his own athletic career at Londonderry HS and University of New Hampshire, Martin went on to over 30 years of coaching successes in the Granite State. Following multiple state championships in the early 70's with a fledgling program at Raymond HS, he went on to set state benchmarks in his career at Londonderry HS. Along with 24 state titles and three New England championships in cross country and track, there were over 100 individual state titleists, seven national champs, and three Footlocker finalists. Away from the school, Larry coached the NH Tracksters youth club, and still serves as state Indoor Track Chairman, founder and director of the NH Junior HS Cross Country Championship (largest in the northeast), publisher of NH XC Journal.

Larry Newman (Bradford MA), long time statistician and announcer in New England, received the Allen Dawson Achievement Award from the NSSF. Larry, a certified "track and field nut", has long kept the New England High School "All Time" records and statistics. He served as one of the announcers for last weekend's meet, capping his season-long schedule of being the voice of numerous scholastic and collegiate meets.

Patrick Tarpy and Heidi Westerling led over 1900 runners through the Whaling City to win at Sunday's New Bedford Half Marathon, the second race of the 2009 USATF-NE Grand Prix. It was a double-double, as both had won at the series opener Jones 10 Mile in Amherst MA threw weeks earlier. Both also earned bonues for their winning times.

In his first race at that long a distance, Tarpey (Team RUN/ Providence RI) ran 1:03:27 and put almost two minutes between himself and runner-up/masters winner Joseph Koech, with defending champ Derese Deniboba (ETH/NY) a full turn around the dial behind. Titus Mutinda (M40, Team RUN/ Lowell MA) led the NE masters, with Dave Oliver (M50, GLRR/Westborough MA), Gordon MacFarland (M60, CSU/Brookline MA), and Harry Carter (M70, BAA/Blackstone MA) topping the other age division charts.

Westerling (BAA/Acworth NH), so consistent in the GP event longer distances, clocked 1:11:35 for the rugged loop, the fastest time by any female in 19 years. Whirlaway teammates Simonetta Piergentili (W40, Wilmington MA) and Nancy Corsaro (W50, Methuen MA) along with Patty Foltz (W60, GLRR/Stowe VT) took home the age group titles.

Ever the team event in its calendar position as a pre-Boston Marathon tune-up, over 25 teams scored in both open divisions and nearly as many masters squads placed. The Boston Athletic Association, led by Matt Ely put 5 men in the top 14 to score the win, and the blue's women also took gold. Whirlaway took both masters titles, as well as the men 50+, where the CMS women matched the Kaz-men. Cambridge Sports Union prevailed among the men 60+.

The change in directorship to the Friendly Sons of St.Patrick went seamlessly, and a festive atmosphere prevailed in the race area following the competition, as downtown businesses partnered in the post-race "Restaurant Run".

The series resumes on May 16, returning to Bedford NH after a year away for the 12K championship. Team scores will be posted at www.usatfne.org/gp.

With several National records etched into the books, the Nike Indoor Nationals at the Reggie Lewis Center provided a sparkling finish to the indoor season. One of the two "HS Nationals" contested, the meet saw a larger crowd - and more all-tie list marks than the last scholastic season closer held here ten years ago. Directors are the National Scholastic Sports Foundation.

Two New Englanders took home gold on the "home" track; the girls from Newton Centre Athletics won the 4 x mile in NE Record 20:25.90 - and took second in the 4 x 800 (8:58.63, first NE team under 9 minutes) as well, while Andrew Springer (Westerly RI) won the mile in the nation's fastest for 2009, 4:08.47 - and also placed fifth in the 2 mile (9:06.25) just a few hours later.

Silver medals went to Charlestown MA boys (3:33.33) in the Sprint Medley, and Boston's Ricardo Jaquite in the triple jump, 49'11", a New England best. Bronze went to Rhode Island's Mike Gama in the weight (72'9.25"), Emily Jones (Harvard MA) in the 2 mile 10:25.76, Emmaline Berg (Holliston) in the shot (42'2.75"), and Waltham TC/Newton girls Sprint Medley (4:07.90).

Six US high school records peppered the results; Friday, Conor McCullough (CA), whose father was an all-American at BU, started things off with a pair of records topped by the first HS toss of the 25 lb weight over the 90' line (92'7.5") while Illinois freshman Lukas Verzbicas shattered the scholastic Boys 5000 meter record in 14:18 (and won the 2 mile in a US frosh record 8:57.44). Sunday, boys records in the 60 meter hurdles (Wayne Davis, 7.70) and 4x800 (Albermarle 7:36.99, first HS ever under 7:40 indoors).

The meet could not have been run as successfully as it was were it not for the 50+ local officials and the cadre of volunteers from various local high schools who graciously worked over the three days.

The full results are at National Scholastic Sports Foundation website, while you can see thousands of pictures and get downloadable videos of every event at the new website IAMSPORT.org.

The second race of the 2009 USATF-NE Grand Prix rolls through New Bedford on Sunday at the New Bedford Half Marathon. Race begins at 11:00 a.m. sharp in the center of the city, and entry is available on race day.

Clubs are reminded that scorers must be USATF members. The race is making changes in some management areas, and the new group promises more post race festivities.

Over 2200 top scholastic athletes take to the Reggie Lewis Center for the Nike Indoor National scholastic championships this coming weekend. The meet was last held here in 1999, and the reputation for seeing the stars before they go on to the world level seems to be ready to repeat.

A number of local tracksters will be taking part, and abilities go up to Olympic Trials 1500 meter finalist Jordan Hasay of California, and World Youth hammer throw medalist Conor McCullough (ready to shatter the scholastic weight throw record). The facility doors could well be closed at capacity on Sunday afternoon when the track finals take place.

You can find the schedule and details about the meet and associated clinics at nationalscholastic.org.

And if you can't make it, you can see the meet at the new locally developed website IAMSPORT - read about it at the meet website. We'll post highlights on Monday.

At the USATF Indoor Combined Events championship, local athletes Kasey Hill and Matt Chisham recorded creditable scores and placings in heptathlon and pentathlon, respectively. Chisham, an assistant coach at Harvard, placed fourth of eight in his seven event specialty with 5443 points behind winner Jake Arnold (5748). He tied for the best high jump and had the second best pole vault in the two day competition. Finishing seventh was former Brookline MA and Dartmouth College star Mustapha Abdur-Rahim, now training in Arizona.

Hill's score of 4051 placed sixth of eleven qualifiers behind winner Diana Picker (4391). She recorded the best mark of the competition in the shot put - 41' 9 3/4".

In the European Championships held in Torino, Italy, Mary Cullen, Providence College alum who has been training with coach Ray Treacy in Providence over the fall and winter, earned a bronze medal in the 3000 meters. Cullen, who won the NE XC championship in the fall and set an Irish national record in that event at the BU Valentine meet, clocked the fastest time in the qualifying round and then pushed the pace in the final and held on for third in 8:48.47. Teammate Roisin McGettigan, with the same PC pedigree, was fourth in the 1500, just 1/10 out of the medals.

Kasie Enman (BAA/Huntington VT) placed third at Saturday's North America, Central America and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) Cross Country Championships. Athletes representing nine national federations competed in the fifth annual event at the Chain of Lakes Park in Titusville FL.

Enman's bronze medal was part of a strong pack race by the US senior women, who places 1-3-4-5 to take the win over Canada. Her time was 20:23 over the 6K course.

In the senior men's race, former Providence College and BAA runner Dylan Wykes of Canada placed second.

The Boston Athletic Association announced the creation of a new 5 km race to be held on the Sunday before the Boston Marathon. On Sunday, April 19, the first BAA 5-K will run through Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, finishing at the marathon's famous finish line on Boylston Street. Entries are limited to 4000, and registration is available online only, at www.baa.org beginning Thursday, March 5, at 10:00 a.m.

Entry for the 2009 Mt.Washington Road Race is now open. Event registration is totally on-line, and it is by lottery.

All race applicants, both lottery and lottery bypass, must register between March 1 and March 15. Successful selectees will be posted shortly afterwards; there is no waiting list for non-drawn names.

All information can be found at www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com. Please read all information and instructions carefully.

Dan Verrington (CMS/Bradford MA) finished fifth overall and won his second straight masters title at the USA 50K Road Race Championship at Caumsett State Park in Huntington NY on Sunday. The 46 year old Verrington clocked 3:25.22, but was only third New Englander as Central Mass Strider teammates Justin Fyffe (E.Dumemrston VT) and Ben Nephew (Mansfield MA) took the open silver and bronze medals, respectively, behind winner Michael Wardian (Arlington VA), who won his second consecutive USA 50 km title in 2:56:36. USATF-NE treasurer Stephen Peckiconis (CSU/Roslindale MA) was 17th in the 91 finisher field, and 2nd in the M50 division.

. The Championship will also be held at Caumsett for the next three years. Results - www.usatf.org

New England athletes joined the country's top competitors center stage at the Reggie Lewis Center, as the USA Indoor National Championship was held there for the seventh year.

Joanne Dow (NEWalkers/Manchester NH) won the only local gold, taking the 3000 meter walk in 13:04.28. Other women's placings in the field events included Harvard's Becky Christensen was 4th in the high jump, Sherita Williams (GBTC) took seventh in the triple jump, and Jasmine Jennings (URI) and Kelly Godsey (Somerville MA) 6-7 in the weight. On the track, New Balance Boston teammates Rebecca Donaghue and Jenn Donovan both set personal bests in the 3000, (5th and 12th, respectively).

In the men's standings, Chris Bryce (Waltham MA) spun the weight ot seventh (event won by RI native Jake Freeman in 77'10 1/4") and Nate Hunter (Northeastern) tossed the shot far enough for ninth, while on the track Colin Aina (Providence RI) was 9th in the 60m hurdles, Eric Ashe (Boston U) 10th in the 1500, and Nate Jenkins (Saucony/GLRR) 14th in the 8:17.44.

Of elite note, Jenn Stuczynski upped her own US pole vault record - set three weeks earlier here during the Reebok meet - with a clearance of 4.83 meters (15'10"). The overall winners of the Visa Championship Series, both hurdlers, were not decided until the final events; with hurdler Lolo Jones taking the women's title (second consecutive) with her 7.84 60m hurdles win, and Terrance Trammel winning the men's event in 7.37, the 2nd fastest American ever.

In the exhibition events, Chris Simpson (Black and Tan TC) finished a strong third (4:08.54) in the masters men's 1500 meters (behind a world best by Tony Young of Washington), and Rebecca Connolly (Wilmington MA) was third (65.50) in the masters women's 400. Greater Boston TC was second (women) and fourth (men) in the Distance Medley Relay. Cambridge Jets recorded wins in both the boys' and girls' youth 4 x 200 relay, while the Massachusetts girls and Connecticut boys led the New England states scholastic all-star 4 x 400 relay, the latter running a meet record 3:16.67.

A number of local officials worked the meet and many clubs provided volunteers. See the USATF website for full results.

The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships returns to the Reggie Lewis Center this weekend. Top athletes from around the country will vie for national titles and take aim at facility records.

Of special note, local youth will be featured in a pair of exhibition relays on Saturday afternoon. New England states scholastic all-star teams will race a 4 x 400 relay at 5:00, and six youth clubs will run the popular boys' and girls' 4 x 200 relay at 3:30.

Come and cheer on locals and international stars alike. Tickets are still available on site at all price levels ($10/$20/$30); USATF members get a 10% discount. Events run from 1:45 pm to 6 pm on Saturday, and on Sunday, the weight goes off 10:30 am-1:30 pm, with the bulk of the meet running 2 pm-7 pm. See the USATF website for full schedule and list of entrants.

Pat Tarpey (RUN / Providence) and Heidi Westerling (BAA / Acworth NH) led (most) runners in ahead of the storm as the 2009 Grand Prix kicked off with the 35th Jones Realty Group 10 Mile in Amherst MA. Rain began as the back of the pack came to the finish, and snow made the drive out of the Pioneer Valley a bit challenging, as the 10 Miler returned to the circuit for the first time in almost a decade.

Tarpey, better know for his track and shorter distance exploits, had a minute and a half gap at the finish on past GP champ Pat Moulton over the hilly New England classic loop; Bob Hodge's course record of 48:57 still stands afer 25 years. Westerling outran BAA teammate Kasie Enman by just 16 seconds at 58:18 (course record 57:05 by Nancy Conz, 1986), with Sara Donahue (GBTC) third.

Titus Mutinda (RUN) and Sim Piergentili (Whirlaway) were masters winners, and the Greater Lowell quartet of Dave Oliver (50), and Bill Dixon (60) Susan Hackney (50), and Patty Foltz (60) took home the remaining individual age group trophies.

With many road running teams gearing up training for April's Boston Marathon, team competition was keen, but the BAA was out in full force and with all scorers in the top 10, swept the men's and women's open divisions by convincing margins over CMS in both races. Not surprising, Whirlaway matched that double in the masters division, and Greater Springfield was second in both 40+ team totals. Greater Lowell men and Green Mountain women took 50+ honors, and North Medford the best of the 60+ scorers.

596 runners completed the course, designed way-back-when by current GBTC coach Tom Derderian. Grand Prix scoring and a link to full results are at usatf.org/gp. The series continues in three weeks at the New Bedford Half Marathon.

Roland Lavallee at Armagh race

Two New England runners scored well at International Race Week in Ireland last week. Jenn Donovan (Brighton MA) and Roland Lavallee (Bellingham MA), both part of New Balance Boston, earned the trip to Europe based on their finishes at the 2008 New England association cross country championship. Joining them in Ireland was past MA state champ Chris Barnicle (Newton MA), now at U.New Mexico and sitting out the indoor season.

Race weekend opened on Thursday at the 19th Armagh road race, a night-time run covering loops through the old town. Donovan raced to a close 4th in the women's 3K, a stride behind former New Englander and top American Jess Minty, and 12 seconds back of the winner. The men's 5K was won by American David Nightingale with Barnicle fifth (14:00) and Lavallee 22nd (14:32) in the competitive international field. Irish natives from Providence returned to the home sod and broke the top 10, Mark Carroll third (13:58) race, and Keith Kelly returning from several years of injury for eighth (14:16).

On Sunday, much of the same field mixed it up at the 39th Ras na hEireann cross country race at the historic site of the Battle of the Boyne in Drogheda, County Louth. Donovan improved the the silver medal, the highest NE placing ever in this event, clocking 13:48 for 4K, 2 seconds off gold. The men's 6K, won by Artur Kozlowski of Poland, found Kelly, Carroll, and Barnicle 4-5-6th and Lavellee 15th.

The USA was second in both men's team competition, with Barnicle a scorer in each; Ireland, backed by the Providence lads, won the Ras.

The exchange with the races has gone on for over 10 years, courtesy of Downtown 5K race director and Dunleer AC member Charlie Breagy; the opportunity has proven valuable to our local runners over the years.

Results are at rasnaheireann.com.

With seven individual winners, Greater Boston TC scored another double win at the USATF - NE Indoor T&F Championships at Harvard on Sunday. Their men dominated with 67 points over runner-up Gate City Striders with 11, while the women's total of 36 doubled that of Cambridge Jets and Y-Speed (18) who tied for 2nd.

Sherita Williams (GBTC) bounced 43'2 1/4" in the triple jump, good to advance to this weekend's USA Nationals in Boston. Visiting athlete Alec Faldermeyer from New York recorded the top scholastic weight throw in the country for the year, spinning the 25 lb ball 75'7 1/4".

Full results are at the track page.

With a pair of personal bests, a university record national qualifying times, U.Mass-Lowell Ruben Sanca is the USATF-NE Athlete of the Month for January.

A grad of Boston's O'Bryant Technical HS, the senior first ran a best in the 3000 meters at the Dartmouth Relays, his 8:09.05 the fastest by an NCAA Division II runner for the season to date. Then at the BU Terrier Classic, running with the leaders from the gun, he clocked a school record in the 5000 meters; the time of 14:05.46 broke a 25 year old mark and was also both a qualifier for NCAA Division II and USATF championships, as well as the fastest ever run by anyone from his native Cape Verde.

A full list of the Athletes of the Month are at the USATF-NE website Awards page.

Cheered by the sell-out crowd at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center, Shalane Flanagan crushed the eight year old American indoor 5000 meter record on Saturday evening. Just outleaned by Ethiopia's Sentayehu Ejigu after the sprint finish, both Flanagan Ejigu earned the same time, 14:47.62.

The Marblehead MA product, now living in North Carolina, singularly has the honor of holding four USA distance records on the track at the same time: 3000m and 5000m indoors, and 5000m and 10,000m outdoors; both indoor marks were set on the Reggie Lewis oval. In third, Ireland's Mary Cullen, training in Providence, missed an Irish National record by less than a second (15:38.34).

Jenn Stuczynski cemented her dominance of the US women's pole vault by breaking the five year old American record with a 15'9 1/4" clearance, and the six time US Champion then had several good attempts at the world record altitude.

Both US record setters earned a $25,000 bonus. From Josh Brown (Green Mountain AA/Burlington VT) getting the meet started and crowd cheering in the opening event, sprinting from third to the win off the final turn in the masters mile, to Olympic pole vault champ Stephen Hooker raising the bar to a personal best 19'10 1/2", with a good try (but miss) at a world record 20'2 1/4" to close the meet, fans and officials alike declared this the best meet ever held in New England. Find video, stories, interviews, and results at bostonindoorgames.com.

December's Athlete of the Month Rebecca Donaghue earned a spot on the USA World Cross Country team next month with a fifth place finish at the USA Winter National Cross Country Championships held at Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood, Maryland, last Saturday. The fall national XC champion, Donaghue had a solid run, clocking 27:46 over the rolling and muddy 8K course. She'll don the USA uniform in Amman, Jordan, on March 28.

The top 6 are guaranteed a spot on the team, but the B.A.A.'s Kasey Enman (Huntington VT), placing ninth, may still get a chance to represent the US if any runners ahead of her decline the opportunity. Enman may also be picked for the upcoming NACAC (NorthAmerican/Central American/Caribbean) Championship race at the end of February. Race winner, Emily Brown of Team USA Minnesota, dominated with a 32 second victory margin in 26:58.

2004 Olympic marathon medalist Meb Keflizighi held on to win the men's 12K championship, his second USA Championship gold of 2009 following his win at the half-marathon championship on January 18 in Houston. Top New England finisher was Nate Jenkins in 32nd. Several former NE HS products now at college outside the region contested the junior (age 19 and under) championships; visit usatf.org.

Only a small number of tickets remain for Saturday evening's Reebok Boston Indoor Games. Three exhibition events featuring youth clubs and masters milers and sprinters kick off the event at 5:15 p.m., followed by almost three hours of international caliber events in this 14th annual event.

Wednesday's press conference with vaulters Jenn Stuczynski (USA, Olympic silver) and Olympic champ Steve Hooker (Australia), and Kara Goucher (USA ranked #1 at 5000 and marathon) produced interesting discussion, and special bonuses have been announced for world records in the men's and women's pole vault. Of note, Goucher's reply to her goal for 2009 was right to the point - "To win the Boston Marathon!".

Purchase those final tickets, or find out about the fields at bostonindoorgames.com. The meet will be televised on ESPN (one day delay) on Sunday, February 8 from 4-6 pm.

The New England association has been awarded the opportunity to host a Level I Coaching School this summer. The school will be held at Governors Academy in Newbury MA from July 24 through 26.

The Level I school lasts 20 hours over three days, and covers fundamentals of sports science and training in the various event groups. Appropriate for new and experienced coaches alike, it's designed so all coaches will be "speaking the same language" regarding training terminology. Level I is becoming a requirement for many college and HS positions, and is a pre-requisite to attend the specialized week-long Level II schools. A new youth oriented Level II is also being developed.

More information on the USATF Coaching Education program can be found at the USATF Coaches' Education website. On-line registration for the July Level I school will begin in early March.

Gatorade announced their athletes of the year for the 2008 cross country season on Tuesday. Winners from the six New England states are:

MA: Emily Jones, Bromfield School; Mike Moverman, Oliver Ames; New Hampshire: Heidi Caldwell, Hanover; Eric Malnati, Fall Mountain Regional; Rhode Island: Jenna Riley, Coventry; Andrew Springer, Westerly; Vermont: Hannah Rowe St. Johnsbury Academy; Adron Pitmon, Mt. Mansfield Union; Connecticut: Moira Kenny, Immaculate/Danbury; John Raneri, New Fairfield; Maine: Abbey Leonardi, Kennebunk; Will Geoghegan, Brunswick.

Gatorade also recognizes top track and field athletes annually.

Entry for the 2009 B.A.A. Boston Marathon is closed. On-line entry was shut off this morning, and the field size has reached its maximum number. No further entries, either time-qualified or waivers, are being accepted.

The Yale HS Invitational pushes a lot of runners through a lengthy facility over two days in New Haven, and the meeting produces top performances as schoolboys and girls reach mid-season shape.

Andrew Springer (Westerly RI) turned in a US indoor season leader as he clocked 4:10.61 in the mile. Running solo from the front, he was 4 seconds clear of East Greenwich RI teammates Mark Feigen and Nick Rose, with all three Ocean Staters likely to secure invitations to the prestigious Millrose Games HS Mile.

The previous day, Springer anchored his Westerly quartet to the top 2009 HS time for the distance medley relay, 10:17.50. All Yale results, as well as stories and photo galleries, are at dyestat.com, the authoritative site for high school TF on the web.

Thanks to the cooperation of the Reggie Lewis Track and Atheletic Center, a new youth meet will run on Thursday, February 19 at the center (that's Massachusetts school vacation week). The meet has most events, and is for ages 16 and under, run in 2 year age groups. It's a low key meet open to all abilities. Find the entry info at the track and field page. And, officials are needed.

It's still cold outside, but not too early to start training for the outdoor season's long throws. Board member Tom Petranoff has multiple weekly training sessions in Cranston, Rhode Island, held most Saturdays and Sundays 10am-1pm and Wednesdays 4-7pm. Contact Tom at 401-440-0878, or email turbojav at aol.com

The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) announced today that entries for the 113th Boston Marathon, to be held on Monday, April 20, 2009, are pacing 20% ahead of the same time last year. As of January 9, 2008, the field for this year's race is already pushing 18,000.

The field size limit remains at 25,000 entrants for the second consecutive year, and the B.A.A. did not increase the entry fee for the 2009 Boston Marathon. Last year's race reached its maximum by February, and this year it may fill before February 1. Qualified runners looking to participate in the 2009 race are encouraged to submit their registration quickly to avoid being shut out of the competition.

"It's an exciting time for the B.A.A. and the sport of running, even in this challenging economic climate," said B.A.A. Executive Director Guy Morse. "To qualify for the Boston Marathon takes a commitment to one's training and dedication to a fitness regimen. Anyone who has qualified and intends to run next year's Boston Marathon should enter now while space remains available. We anticipate reaching our maximum field size again well in advance of the 2009 race."

To register for the 2009 Boston Marathon, and see all race information, please visit the official Boston Marathon web site at www.bostonmarathon.org.

Rebecca Donaghue, top runner for New Balance Boston, is the USATF-NE Athlete of the Month for December 2008.

Donaghue, currently living in State College PA, won the USA Fall National Cross Country Championship on December 11 in Spokane WA. Running with the leaders throughout the race, Donaghue moved to the lead in the final mile and continued to win her first USA championship title. Conditions were particularly challenging with a snow-covered course and the wind-chill factor near zero.

Also in December, the U.Mass-Amherst graduate (1998) earned a tenth place ranking at the 5000 meter racing distance among US women for 2008 by Track & Field News magazine, the authoritative resource for the sport.

A full list of the year's Athletes of the Month are at the USATF-NE website Awards page.

A number of New Englanders finished the year in the top 10 national rankings as picked by Track & Field News, the "Bible of the Sport". Rankings are based on a combination of factors including honors won, placing head-to-head competition, and performances.

Joanne Dow (Manchester NH) was the region's only USA #1 ranker, taking that spot in the 20K race walk. Molly Huddle (Providence RI) was the only double-ranker, 8th in the 5000 and in the 4th in the 10,000. Other rankers include Sherita Williams (GBTC, 9th, triple jump) and Rebecca Donaghue (new balance Boston) 10th, 5000.

In the men' rankings, Vermont's Andrew Wheating, a soph at Oregon, is third in the 800, Said Ahmed (Boston) seventh in the 1500, and Patrick Collier (Athletics East) tenth in the 20K walk.

Among the rankings were many local products now living and training elsewhere in the country. Top overall was Marblehead MA product Shalane Flanagan (now in North Carolina) who was third in the world in the 10,000 meters (1st US) and third US in the 5000. Other former New Englanders among the rankers include (but certainly aren't limited to) Sean Furey (javelin), Jake Freeman (hammer), Mustapha Abdur-Rahim (decathlon), Matt Downin (marathon), Ari Lambie (5000), Bethany Hart (hammer).

Full rankings are at trackandfieldnews.com.

Five track meets are set for beginning of January to get your indoor season going. Saturday, the Boston U All-comers meets have sections for all abilities in the 3000 / 400 / mile / 200 / 800. Races begin at 10:00 a.m.

Saturday afternoon at 5pm, the RCC Tiger Invite, a more complete meet with field events, runs at the Reggie Lewis Center. Again, all abilities welcome. Register at DirectAthletics.com.

A new field-event-only meet is set for Holy Cross College in Worcester on Tuesday, January 6; events include the PV, LJ, TJ, WT, and SP. 4PM start, open and masters invited.

Finally, the Needham TC Youth Invite takes place at the Reggie Lewis Center on Sunday, January 11. It's for ages 5-16, with a pretty complete schedule. See NeedhamTrack.org.

And, the 40th annual Dartmouth Relays spans Jan 9-11; most events are closed at this time, but masters can still enter their events on Friday 1/9; details are at lancertiming.com.

More details can be found at www.usatfne.org/track/.

USATF-NE Managing Director Steve Vaitones was named an IAAF Level B Road Race Course Measurer. He joins New Englanders Ray Nelson and Justin Kuo among the 50 measurers in the United States at either the B or A level. There are just 15 measurers with an "A" level in the USA, Jim Gerweck (CT, A) and David Katz (NY, A) being the only two A's in NE/NY. (Wayne Nicoll of New Hampshire, now retired from measuring courses, is an Emeritus A.) Worldwide, there are just 65 A and 111 B measurers.

One team champion and three other team medalists highlighted the National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championship in Virginia on Saturday. Led by Jack Collopy, Granite State Flash scored a convincing win in the Youth Boys (age 13-14) race. Collopy, fifth overall, was the highest finishing New England association athlete on the day.

Two other teams earned silver medals in the ten age group races. Waltham Track Club Midget Girls (age 11-12, Olja Rapaic 19) and Nitehawks Sports Club Midget Boys (Max Lachance, 13) matched that place in their respective races. Final team medal winners were the Nashual PAL (Conor Canfield, 14) third in the Bantam Boys (age 10 and Under) race. Team RUN just missed a podium appearance in the Youth Girls race. In their first appearance at Nationals, they tied for third on points, but were edged on the tie-breaker (team with best fifth runner). With a number of other top 10 placings, it was the best JO showing for local clubs in a number of years.

14 runners finished in the top 25, earning "all American" honors.

Full results can be found at the USATF Website.

Rebecca Donoghue (New Balance Boston) battled strong fields and brutal conditions to win the USA Fall National / Club Cross Country Championships at Spokane, Washington on Saturday. An overnight snowstorm created a rough course, and while the air was clear by race time, decreasing temperatures and gale force winds made it the toughest race ever run for much of the field. Donoghue, an Olympic Trials qualifier at 5000 meters who also placed well in both the USA 5K and 10K road championships this fall, won her first ever USA Championship by 8 seconds in 21:38; teammate Jenn Donovan, NE Champ, was fifth as only five runners broke 21:00 for the 6K circuit. The pair, plus Erin Dromgoole in 6th, led New Balance Boston to a repeat their runner-up spot, this time behind Boulder Running Company (69-100) with three time US champion Boston Athletic Association, led by Kasie Enman (9), third at 128. Also placing in the 21 team field was the Greater Boston TC (13, Sara Donahue, 34th).

Men's teams were represented by Greater Boston TC, 30th among 40 clubs, with top local individuals Justin Lutz (43) and Mark Miller (55) among 314 finishers.
Masters races had a local flavor with Greater Lowell RR teammates Patty Foltz and division runner of the year Bill Dixon taking the age 60+ wins. Maine's Bob Winn topped the 50+ division in his first race in that age group (with John Barbour of GLRR 6th). NE champ Dan Franek (Dirigo RC) raced in second in the M40 division, heading up a 4th place finish for the club among 18 scorers.

Full results can be found at the USATF Website.

Five New Englanders ran solid races in the 30th annual Footlocker Scholastic Cross Country Championship in San Diego on Saturday.

The Girls Race featured three past champions, ensuring an honest pace and keen competition. Down to the final quarter mile, the race was true to form as all three past winners were in the mix. A kick by 2006 winner Jordan Hasay of California carried her to the lead in the final 100 meters and to the win, only the sixth runner to win two titles in this feature event (two are from New England). Three time qualifier Emily Jones (Bromfield, Harvard MA) closed her high school XC career with a thirteenth place finish, with Mass. Division I champ Kristin Kasper (North Andover) 31st.

Boys race was dominated by Virginia's Solomon Haile, who was unchallenged afer a mile, with Alaska's first FL finalist, Trevor Dunbar second (check out his snowstorm mile time trial in YouTube video). Top New Englander Mike Moverman (North Easton MA) in 17th, was followed by Andrew Springer (Westerly RI, 24th) and Phil Galebach (Medford MA, 32nd), all running well in the elite 40 runner field.

Detailed stories and full results are, as usual, at dyestat.com, and at footlockercc.com (with some video.)

For those interested in the meet's history, a listing of all Footlocker finalists from New England can be found at usatfne.org/cross.

In international racing over the weekend, Ireland's Mary Cullen, runaway winner this fall in both the Mayor's Cup and NE Championships, placed fourth at the European Championships in Brussels Belgium. Currently training in Providence, the meet found several other placers with RI connections representing the Emerals Isle; PC grad Martin Fagan paced the Open Men in 24th, and Providence resident Mark Carroll was 42nd. Providence College runner David McCarthy was tops in green in the Under-23 race, 24th, with teammate Richard Yeates in 33rd. Also representing Ireland was BU grad Rosemary Ryan in the women's open, 41st.

Laurie Boemker receieved the Presidents award at the 2008 USATF Annual Meeting.
Photo: Justin Kuo

A steady stream of New England states representative were announced for their athletic endeavors and contributions at the USATF convention awards presentation breakfast.

In the high performance division, Olympian Joanne Dow (Manchester NH) was the Ron Zinn award winner as outstanding Female Race Walker for 2009, with Theron Kissinger (Waterbury VT, CTRW) the RW Grand Prix winner.

Most awards came back to the region from the Masters Long Distance Running Committee. The Masters Performers of the Year were Maine's Joan Samuelson and Utah's Dennis Simonaitis whose NE connections are many - graduate of Xaverian Brothers HS (Westwood MA), UMass-Lowell, and the HFC Striders. Tops in Age Divisions included Samuelson (50-54) for women, and Simonaitis (45-49), Norm Larson (50-54, VT / Green Mt.AA), Bill Dixon (60-64, Brattleboro VT / Gr.Lowell Roadrunners), Bill Riley (70-74, Marstons Mills MA / Cape Cod AC) for men.

Masters Track & Field recognized several Athletes of the Year in two broad age divisions. Included among Men age 60+ was Bob Matteson (Bennington VT, age 90-94), while fellow Vermonter Barbara Jordan (South Burlington VT) was one of just six women in the same age division given notice.

The Masters T&F Hall of Fame elected Roger Pierce, age 64 of Essex, MA. Roger's accomplishments include more than 20 individual first place titles in U.S. Masters Championships and 12 medals (8 of them golds) at the outdoor World Masters Athletic Championships, including 2 golds and a silver in the 400 - his best individual event. He also medalled in the WMA Indoor Champs at Linz, Austria in 2006, winning both a silver medal in the M60 400 and a gold medal on the world-record setting M60 4 x 200 relay there.

New Englanders were also among Contributors brought to the front of the meeting. The H. Browning Ross Merit Award for lifelong service to Men's Long Distance Running went to Bob Sevene, Waltham MA native and coach for several NE clubs, colleges , and world class athletes over four decades who now resides (and coaches) in California. The Scott Hamilton Memorial Award for LDR contributions on the local association level went to Richard Bolt, past NE Mountain/Ultra/Trail chair who started similar programs after moving to Oregon three years ago.

On the Women's Long Distance Running side, the Contributor of the Year Award, named for our own late Marja Bakker, was presented to BAA past president and board member Frank Porter for his work with the Women's Olympic Marathon Trials.

Officials chair Laurie Boemkerand husband (and USATF-NE past president) Ron Boemker were recipients of the Officials' Committee John Davis Award for community activities and leadership in addition to officiating. Laurie was also called up for one of a dozen President's Awards for her long term contributions to USATF.

Three NE delegates were elected or appointed to key committee positions. Gary Snyder (Gr.Boston TC/Boston MA) was re-elected as chairman of the Masters Track & Field Committee, which oversees activities in that discipline, and will be involved as the World Masters Championships comes to the US (Sacramento CA) in 2011. Kathy Nary (Newbury MA) will serve as vice-chair of Women's Long Distance (Road) Running for the next four years and Steve Vaitones (Waltham MA) will have the equivalent position in the Race Walking Committee. Steve was also re-appointed to USATF's Rules Committee.

Find the full awards lists at www.usatf.org

USA Track & Field began the new Olympiad with elections, restructuring, and positive words at the federation's 28th Annual Meeting in Reno, Nevada last week. The New England association had 15 elected delegates and several additional representatives at the sessions that covered all aspects and age groups of the competitive and administrative aspects of the sport.

Restructuring of the top level of the organization passed overwhelmingly in the first general session; it will reduce the National board of directors from 31 to 15, and while some groups lose a direct representative, they will at minimum share a spot at the table.

National Director Doug Logan, noted in his first address to the body how this "remodeling" of the organization's house will lead to more work toward the organization's common goals and to less fragmentation. On the job since July, Logan's keynote address in Sunday's closing session was well presented and well received. While commenting on the elite needs of the sport, he also noted the needs at the base level including uniform standards, statistics and rankings, increased safety and proficiency in the management of events, application of newer technologies and creating more compelling reasons for more in the sport to be members of USATF. You can read his complete address here.

National championships in most sports committees were awarded through 2010 (and some beyond that), with several continuing in or returning the New England venues. Find meeting summaries and full awards lists at www.usatf.org

Two Massachusetts team had creditable finishes in the Nike Cross Nationals December 6 final in Portland OR. Yet again, positions switched between friendly league rivals as Newton Centre Athletics (Newton South), led by Kelsey Karys (37th), placed sixth (204 points) in the 22 team field, with Mercury TC (Lincoln Sudbury) twelfth; MTC top individual was Andrea Keklak in 67th. Manlius NY was a solid winner with 66 points. Individual Abby Levene (Phillips Andover) placed 57th.

The boys' race was won by North Spokane (WA) with Danbury CT 21st; Francis Hernandez (Nashua NH, 63rd) and Aaron Watanabe (Norwich VT, 90th) raced the final, which saw the top 72 cross the finish line within a minute of each other.

Results and stories are at Dyestat.com.

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